


To overcome

by Socksrocker



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, No Smut, Plot, Romantic Fluff, i lied there's totally smut but vanilla and emotional smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 73,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21584209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Socksrocker/pseuds/Socksrocker
Summary: Based off undertale characters, but does not have the usual monster-rise-to-power political plot.This story focuses on MC and her relationship with the characters of Undertale, years after they settled into the surface world.Our 23 year old Female MC is an optimist who does her best to care for those around her.She owns a small cafe, so how does she manage to afford her baby blue sports car and motorbike?She also has a little pet rabbit called Kiwi, and an indecipherable train of thought.Sans is hurt by all he's gone through during the time underground, but MC won't let him drown.He's smart, OP, and who knew he'd have a jealous streak in him?Who is this girl and why is she so crazy? More importantly, why does he love it?There is plot, but mostly fluff. Because I love fluff.Prepare for smiles and awwwwwwws.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Asgore Dreemurr & Toriel, Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Sans/Original Character
Comments: 145
Kudos: 190





	1. A new friend

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Rain, Rain, Go Away](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7291828) by [ToumeiKyoudai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToumeiKyoudai/pseuds/ToumeiKyoudai). 



> Hello, it's my first ever fan fiction!  
> I do have an idea where I want to take this novel, but feel free to let me know if you have any feedback or anything you would like to add to this.
> 
> Otherwise, just enjoy this ride with me :)  
> If some people actually end up reading this, I might continue the story.  
> Just leave me a hello if you would like me to!

“....Bye Debs… Thanks for the coffee...” The last customer left your cafe with a happy wave. It was _kind of_ a wave. Considering he didn’t really have hands and was just bobbing out the door. Okay, it was more like a body wave.

“See ya around, Naps!” You call back. Napstablook was one of the monsters you were on better terms with. He always came into the shop with his headphones on, bobbing to some tune or the other. He was on his way to his next DJ gig and you told him that he _had_ to invite you to one of his shows next time. You take a look around your empty cafe and check your watch. 

“4pm huh, close enough! Might as well clean up and grab me and Ash an early dinner!”

You turn to look at your little white rabbit who’s draped over your left shoulder.

“Hey Kiwi, help me push the chairs back in place?” 

Your little white rabbit opens her round eyes and hops off your shoulder with a twitch of her nose. You can’t really have a conversation with her, because _duh_ rabbits can’t speak. But she’s real intelligent and knows what you’re saying. 

Humming a little tune, you get to work wiping down the tables and mopping the floor. When you finish cleaning up, you lock the door of your little cafe ‘Déjà brew’ and head off to grab some food. With Kiwi back on your shoulder, you take your smartphone out and start texting your best friend, Ashley.

-

**Debs**

‘Hey Ash, knocked off early. What do you want for dinner?’

-

You put your phone back in your pocket, waiting for her reply. With a side glance to the motorbike you parked in front of the cafe, you go past it, figuring that you might as well take a slow walk around while waiting. 

One street down, you suddenly hear a frantic cry. “COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!” You whip your head around to see a fluffy little white dog with a bone in its mouth that’s twice the length of its body. The dog is bounding down the street and not too far behind it, you see a really tall skeleton running at full speed. The skeleton has a white shirt and has on a kind of red superhero? cape. He seems to be crying and you wonder if that bone is actually a part of his body.

Just before the fluffy white dog runs past you, it happens to tumble on a part of the road that turns oddly slippery. You lunge at the dog with what you would like to consider to be a ferocious battle cry, only to miss completely and land face-first on the ground with an _oof_. Kiwi flies off your shoulder and lands somewhere with a gentle thud. On the bright side though, in its haste to get away, the fluffy white dog drops the long white bone and makes no attempt to get it back. You patt the dust off your jeans and pick the bone up as you stand.

“Here you go! Sorry I let the dog get away though, do you need help to catch it?” You turn towards the skeleton as you speak, and you’re shocked to come face to chest.. errrr ribs? with the skeleton. Honestly though, you weren’t really that surprised. You’re barely more than 5 feet tall. Granted that he is standing rather close, you still have to tilt your head waaaaaay back in order to get a proper look at his face. 

“THANK YOU, HUMAN! BUT THAT WILL NOT BE NECESSARY. THAT ANNOYING DOG BELONGS TO NOBODY, AND MERELY COMES AROUND MY HOUSE FROM TIME TO TIME. ALTHOUGH EACH TIME IT DOES, IT TRIES TO STEAL MY SPECIAL ATTACK. IT DOES NOT ALWAYS SUCCEED, OF COURSE. THIS WAS ONE SUCH EXCEPTION.” 

“Oooooh, a special attack? Can I see? That’s so cool!” Although monsters lived on the surface now, there were so few living in your area you barely got a chance to interact with them. A few popped into your cafe here and there, but you’d never seen a combat type before. There was no way in the name of all that was delicious and holy that you were going to let a chance to see a monster attack go by. 

“WELL OF COURSE, HUMAN. AS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL ONLY EVER DO AMAZING AND COOL THINGS. IN FACT, I EVEN HAVE A SHIRT THAT SAYS ‘COOL DUDE’. HOWEVER, AS I WAS IN THE MIDST OF PREPARING DINNER, I AM AFRAID THAT I WILL BE UNABLE TO SHOW YOU MY SPECIAL ATTACK AT THIS MOMENT.” 

The disappointment that coloured your gaze must have been obvious, as he quickly continued.

“HUMAN! I HAVE A BRILLIANT IDEA! AS THANKS FOR HELPING TO FOIL THAT VILE CANINE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME OVER FOR DINNER? FOR THIS SPECIAL OCCASION, I WILL EVEN MAKE YOU MY SPECIAL ‘FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI’. I AM CERTAIN THAT YOU WILL LOVE IT.”

Friendship spaghetti? That sounded amazing??? You wonder what kind of magic goes into friendship spaghetti. However, you already made plans with Ashley, and feel too guilty to cancel on her. But it’s friendship spaghetti. Maybe Ash would understand? You suddenly recall the last time you cancelled your plans with her to hang out with a stranger, and that didn’t end so well. With a little pout, you have no choice but to reject Papyrus’s generous offer.

“Sorry my frendo, I would love the chance to try your friendship spaghetti, but I already have dinner plans. Maybe next time!” You shoot a little finger gun.

“IN THAT CASE, I WILL NOT KEEP YOU. THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN… WHAT WAS YOUR NAME?”

“Debby, but my friends call me Debs.” 

“WELL THANK YOU, HUMAN DEBS. I’M AFRAID I MUST GET GOING NOW.”

“You’re welcome Papyrus, Pasta la vista!” You’re sure you see his smile stiffen as he takes the bone from you and turns to… dash away at full speed. Wow. 

“Sigh, tough crowd.” You sigh as you pick Kiwi back up gently and place her back on your shoulder.

-

It’s another slow day at your cafe when you hear the tiny entrance bell ring. You look up to see a familiar, albeit rather annoyed, skeleton walking in with another shorter skeleton who’s clutching his sides in laughter. The familiar skeleton is Papyrus of course, how could you forget his superhero cape? Did monsters even change their clothes? Anyway, the shorter one had a wide grin on his face and a light blue jacket. 

“ _Deja Brew_ , oh my god. Paps, this place is now my favourite after Grillby’s.” 

“UGH, SANS. JUST YOUR PUNS ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH. WHOEVER RUNS THIS CAFE MUST BE AS UNBEARABLE AS YOU ARE."

“Bro, don’t _mocha_ like that. I’m sure she’s just _espressoing_ herself.”

“AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THE OWNER OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT IS FEMALE?”

“I am, though. Hello again! I name the store as I want, _decant_ stop me.” You wave and grin at the both of them.

The skeleton in blue slaps his thighs and guffaws while Papyrus grabs the sides of his head dramatically and cries out “OH NO, NOT YOU TOO!” He seems to remember you though, as he says, “HUMAN DEBS? IS THAT YOU?”

“One and only.” You grin in reply. “What can I do you for?”

“YOU WORK IN THIS CAFE?” Wow, his voice really booms. Not that you mind it, though. The energy he has is rather endearing.

“Yep, and I own it too! Pretty neat huh? Can I get you anything?”

“WHY YES. OUR FRIEND, TORIEL, IS THROWING HER KID, FRISK, A BIRTHDAY PARTY TOMORROW! WE HAVE COME TO COLLECT HER ORDER OF CUPCAKES.”

“Oh yeah.” You say, as you head to the back of the kitchen and retrieve a dozen boxes of custom-made cupcakes from the fridge. “Here you go, a hundred and fifty cupcakes already paid for. Must be a real big party, huh!” 

“WHY YES, IT IS. THE WHOLE MONSTER COMMUNITY IS INVITED. YOU SHOULD COME TOO, FRISK WOULD LOVE THE HUMAN COMPANY. RIGHT, SANS?”

“Yeah, you’ll _bake_ their day.”

“UGH! I AM GOING TO PUT THESE CUPCAKES IN THE CAR.” Papyrus grabs the boxes of cupcakes and heads out the door. You wonder how he balances them all. 

You’re looking at Papyrus, hoping that he doesn’t drop your cupcakes when you hear Sans clear his throat. Wait, skeletons have a throat? 

“Hey, Debs, was it? Thanks.”

You tilt your head in confusion as you turn to him. He sounded way too serious to be thanking you for doing your job. “What for? The cupcakes?”

“For helping Paps out. Y’know, most humans either treat us bad or are apathetic about us. What you did for Paps was real nice. He was really happy when he came home. You know, he still made friendship spaghetti even though you couldn't join us.” Sans’ hands are in his pockets and he’s looking at you with a wide grin.

Wariness. Joy. Apprehension.

You feel his emotions radiating from him, so you know his grin isn’t that genuine. Sans was usually good at hiding his emotions, but you could easily sense the emotions of those around you. You did so by sensing their magic. Most humans had a little bit, just enough to survive. Monsters definitely had more than humans did, and Sans had a looooooot more magic than the average monster. 

You were sad to have missed friendship pasta too. It must have been gosh darn amazing. Sigh, such is life. “Humans are shit to other humans too. I wouldn’t put it _pasta_ them.” You smirk and wink at him.

“That’s _tortellini_ true.” He grins. “So, do you want to come to the party?”

“Really? But they don’t know me.” Paaaaaaaarty. You really want to go to a party /(T^T)/ There must be delicious birthday cake at this party. And it’s been forever since you’ve had birthday cake, which is at least a hundred million times better than normal cake.

“Anyone who’s a friend of Paps is a friend of ours. I know they’d love to have you there.”

Your eyes sparkle as you agree to go. Sans gives you Toriel’s address and waves goodbye as he joins Papyrus in the car. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Hello again!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You turn up to the party bearing a friendship gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter today :)  
> Let me know if you want me to keep going

"AHHHHHHH-" You wail as you flail about on the sofa. You're so caught up in your sorrow that you fail to dodge the pillow as it hits you square in the face. 

"Oh shush, you. What's wrong this time?" Ashley takes the pillow and balances comfortably on your butt.

"I can't figure out what to bring to the party... " You whine softly, voice slightly muffled as you speak into the sofa. "I want to make a good impression on the monsters, but I don't know what I can bring for the kid. I don't know what's okay. What if I commit a social faux pas?? What if I bring a chicken pie but I find out monsters are actually vegetarian? What if I mess up and nobody wants to be my friend anymore? Why can't Google tell me what to wear to a monster party? Noooooo I don't want to get uninvited again. Boooooo." You flop your arms to the side of the sofa with an exasperated huff.

"Why can't you just text Sans and ask?"

"I don't- OH yeah we traded numbers! Thanks Ashley!" Ashley stands up just in time to avoid falling unceremoniously to the floor as you pounce off the sofa and run into your room to get your phone.

-

**-(555)123-4567-**

knock knock!

**Snas**

Who's there?

**-(555)123-4567-**

Needle

**Snas**

Needle who?

**-(555)123-4567-**

_Needle_ little help! No idea what to bring to the party! /;A;/

**Snas**

Haha. _Tibia_ honest, you don't have to bring anything, you can just show up.

**Debs**

Come on, throw me a _bone_ here.

**Snas**

Alright, that was pretty _humerus_. What do you have in mind? 

**Debs**

Hmmm… does Toriel have a lot of extra space? Maybe in her garden?

**Snas**

Well… She seems to be using most of it for tables, chairs and the like. But she says there's still a good amount of space left. 

**Debs**

Like, could you fit 3 - 4 cars in that space? Can I use it?

**Snas**

Yeah I think so. Why? 

**Debs**

Great! You'll see! Be right there!

**Snas**

Okay, kid

-

"Hey Ashley! Remember that thing I bought on Amazon? Where'd we put it?" 

-

You're driven through the city and into this gated community. Monsters had gold underground, lots of it. That meant they were practically stinking rich without needing to work. This turned out great in their favour, since you couldn’t imagine what kind of jobs the monsters without hands could do. Most monsters chose to live away from humans for obvious reasons. 

So you couldn’t take your bike, but you also couldn't drive your favourite baby blue sports car because the bouncy castle wouldn't fit in the passenger seat despite being deflated. Ashley couldn’t believe you even tried. Your car barely fit the air pump. In the end, Ashley helped and called in a delivery van to transport it to the party.

"Hey kid!" 

"Heylo!" You call out the passenger window as the van pulls up to a beautiful white house and you wave to Sans. "Could you check with Toriel if I can set this up?" 

A few moments later, you're standing beside Sans, watching as the bouncy castle inflates. Frisk, the birthday kid, was practically hopping on the spot with joy as they gazed upon the wonder and beauty that was your bouncy castle. That is, until they spotted Kiwi on your shoulder. 

Your attention is still on the bouncy castle, so you don't notice till tiny hands pull on your shirt and point to your shoulder. 

"Play nice, okay?" You say as you lift kiwi off your shoulder with your right hand, and place her into their arms. As Frisk, heh, frisks away happily, Sans turns to you with an incredulous grin and raised brow bones?

"Wow kid, I don't know where to start. First, where'd you get the huge-ass bouncy castle? It even has a giant unicorn in the centre. And second, why is there a rabbit on your shoulder? Is that a human thing or what? Like how I've seen some humans do with birds."

"Oh, I had it in my store room!" You reply. As if everyone had a giant unicorn bouncy castle in their house.

"... Your store room." 

"Yeah! I bought it off Amazon because most bouncy castles don't let adults on it. If I want to enjoy bouncing around in a giant bouncy castle, I have to get my own!"

"Adults huh… " 

"Yeah? Hey! Don't look at me like that! I'm 23, which is a perfectly good adult age." You swat his arm playfully as he snickers. 

Joy. Fun. Relaxed.

His positive emotions have a good effect on you too, and it calms your nerves somewhat. 

"Kiwi, my rabbit, has been with me since I was five. I don't really know where she came from. I woke up at home one day, and she was just there. I used to live with my Grandpa and his family till he passed away. The rabbit didn't come from him though, but she always sticks close to me and I've carried her around ever since. Didn't you see her at the café that day?" 

If Sans noticed anything off about the way you spoke about your family, he didn't mention it. That was nice. 

"Nope, musta missed it by a _hare_." He says with a wink. "You've had her since you were five? That's a long time." 

"Yeah, rabbits don't usually live that long. She's still fine though, so I don't _carrot_ all." You return the shit-eating grin. 

"Wanna head inside? I'll introduce ya to Alphys and Undyne. They're family friends." Sans says as he turns to walk into the house. 

"Sure thing!" You reply, shoving your hands into your pockets as you follow him inside the house. 

Friends, eh? Could definitely use a few. 

  
  



	3. A little warm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi Undyne and Alphys!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! As always, leave me a hello if you like what I do :)

You take a step through the entrance, but before Sans can introduce you, you’re greeted with the sight of the coolest looking teal-scaled fish lady with scarlet hair pulled back into a pony-tail to reveal a sleek black eyepatch. Decked in a black tank top and blue skinny jeans, you’re sure you’d turn for her if she wasn’t already canoodling with the cutest little yellow dinosaur. You say little, but even the little dinosaur looks bigger than you. 

Also, to be more accurate, she **was** canoodling. When she noticed the both of you, she manifested a neon blue spear with a NGAHHHHH!!! and hurled it straight at Sans, who (kudos to him) knocked it out of the way to stop barely an inch away from the ceiling with a slight wave of his hand. So many emotions flood you at once. Firstly, W H O A. MONSTER FIGHT? THAT WAS AMAZING. Aside from the fact that any normal human would have died in a single hit by this fish lady’s spear, that was probably the coolest thing you’d ever seen.

Secondly, San’s eyelights had totally disappeared in his right eye, and his left eye was now flashing blue. You would say the blue was pretty, but it was more... SUPER _FRIGGEN_ COOL. As Sans voices his protests at her potential destruction of the house and Undyne correctly points out that it was Sans’ deflection of it that nearly sends the spear through the ceiling, you try to get your brain to work but the rage, frustration and irritation of two highly magical beings practically overloads your senses.

You want to fawn and go up close to the magical spear and maybe even touch it too? But you can hardly do anything more than suffer what you would consider to be a glamorised almost-panic attack. You hadn’t had one in a looooong time. But this was your first time in the company of such magical beings, afterall. Not to mention how negative emotions have also always affected you more than positive ones. Where was Kiwi when you needed her? 

“G-guys, stop. You’re scaring the h-human.” The yellow dinosaur notices your discomfort and points to you as she cuts in. Her interruption helps to mellow their anger, and you’re able to pull yourself back together somewhat as their emotions stop battering against your soul.

“Hey Debs, you doing okay?” Sans turns to you with worry, but before he can continue, you’ve already run over to where he’d tossed her magical spear.

‘OH MY GOD.” You say, as you squat beside the spear and wriggle your fingers in front of it because you want to touch it but you haven’t asked if you can. “Can I touch it???” 

“Uh, sure punk!” The fish lady gestures for you to go ahead as you prod the spear tentatively with your finger. The magic leaves a slight buzz on your skin as you pick it up and spin it. “Cooooool.” After a short moment, the spear disappears into nothing and you can’t help but pout at the loss. 

“Name’s Undyne, punk. And this is my girlfriend, Alphys.”

“H-hello! A-are you o-okay?”

You tilt your head in confusion. “Yeah? Course’ I am! Sans deflected the blow.”

“T-that’s-”  
  
“HA!” Undyne leaps off the sofa and lands in front of you, giving you a punch on the shoulder. “You got a lotta spine for a human!” Undyne is impossibly taller than Papyrus, and you barely come up to her chest. You have to tilt your head waaaaay back again. Your neck is going to kill you more than the pain in your shoulder. You can sense her joy, though, and figure the punch is just her way of showing affection. You appreciate it.

“Pretty sure that Sans is the one with a lotta spine, actually.” You grin, trying not to let the pain show on your face. As Undyne groans and Sans snickers, you introduce yourself. “I’m Debs, by the way! I love your colour. You’re beautiful!”

“No hitting on me, punk!" Undyne punches your shoulder again and accepts your compliment. It hurts, but she’s so cool. Monsters are so cool. Did I say cool yet?

“Debs! D-did you bring that u-unicorn thing?” Alphys notices the bouncy castle outside and asks with unconcealed joy.

“The bouncy castle? Yeah! Figured that it’d be fun for the kids. Although I’m sure I’ll get in on the action at some point.” You’re stoked for the opportunity to join in the fun at this party. Bouncy castles were always better with more people, and Ashley rarely wanted to play.

"...Alphys.” You stare at her with wide eyes and your expression turns solemn.

“W-What?” 

“Is your keychain Meliodas’ broken sword hilt from Nanatsu No Taizai?” You point at the keychain hanging off her phone because you recognise it straight away.

“Y-you watch that a-anime?” Her eyes grow wide as well and you can sense her growing waves of excitement. You don’t need it though, her animated expression practically mirrors yours.

“Of course I do! No self respecting individual would dare miss out on the tragic yet hardcore romance of Meliodas and Princess Elizabeth. I am all into that OP possessive romantic shit.” You break out into the biggest grin, over the moon that someone actually shares your love for anime and doesn't cuss you out for being a weeb. Geez, you don't even understand that much Japanese.

“NERDS!!! You can’t hit on my girlfriend either!” Undyne leaps back and grabs her in a hug before tossing the squealing Alphys over her shoulder and running out to the garden. You don’t sense any anger from Undyne, though. So you know she’s just messing around.

“Well ain’t that the most dramatic welcome I’ve ever experienced.” You turn back to Sans with a grin.

“Happens all the time here.” Sans grins back. At least you think he does, since that grin has technically been on his face since you met him. 

“You really okay, Debs?” He looks genuinely worried for you, and for a moment you wonder if he’s just that good at reading people, or you’re off your A game today. Your panic attacks weren’t that visibly obvious, and you’d stopped yours before it fully came on. 

Slightly startled and also touched that he’d cared enough to ask you about it, you give a reply that explains a little, yet nothing at all. “I’ll get used to it. I’m just not used to being around uh… people with so much magic power. I don’t mean that you guys scared me or anything… Eh... It’s usually easier when Kiwi’s with me. Speaking of Kiwi, I wonder where she is now.” You give a faint smile, but your eyes are focused on a particularly interesting speck of dirt on the floor. Woooow how'd that get there?

Sans raises his brow bones but doesn’t push it even though your change in subject is pretty obvious. You appreciate the out he gives you. 

“She could be with any _bunny_ , but I bet she's still with Frisk. Let's go find them." As he walks past you, he places a gentle hand on your head and ruffles your hair. For a hand as boney as his is, you can't explain how comforting it feels.

"She left me all by my lonesome, she must not _carrot_ all." You happily fall in step behind him, and notice with surprise that you don’t sense any irritation or condemnation from him at all.

Your secrets were yours to keep, of course. And Sans was practically a stranger. However, most people just assumed that you were obligated to open up to them as proper reciprocation of their care for you. Most people took your secrecy as a snub. 

"You already used that one, kid. Not that _anybunny_ minds." 

Your only response is to giggle and stick your tongue out at him.

As you walk a little quicker to catch up to Sans, your heart glows. 


	4. Go with the flow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and more fluff

You and Sans pop in to every room, but Frisk is nowhere to be seen. With a shrug, the both of you head back outdoors to find that the party has already begun. To your delight, you manage to locate Frisk and Kiwi easily. Frisk holds a flower in a pot and Kiwi in each hand. They bounce excitedly on the unicorn bouncy castle with a whole bunch of other monster children. You notice that the flower is actually a monster flower when it swipes a leafy hand at Kiwi who tries to give it a nibble. Kiwi then notices you and hops out of Frisks’ arms to run into yours.

As you pick Kiwi up, Sans introduces you to Toriel, who appears to be the very definition of 'gentle goat mom'. And you don't realise that you've said that out loud until they've both turned to you and Toriel has a paw over her mouth. “Oh my…” She says. “Well, my child, I suppose if that makes you happy... you may indeed call me... goat mom.” With her other paw, she casually smacks Sans on the back of his snickering head. 

-

You're both standing at a corner in the garden as you take in the scene before you. Monsters of every shape, size and colour stand in clusters around the garden, and you realise that Sans had grossly understated the amount of free space Toriel had. You could probably fit a whole school building in here. 

"I know that monsters are rich, but the size of Toriel's garden is a little ridiculous." You have a drink in your hand as you turn to Sans with a raised eyebrow… is he actually drinking ketchup? 

"Well, she is the queen, y’know." 

"WOT????" You choke on your drink as you attempt to speak, drink and for some reason, breathe, all at the same time. You end up spluttering in a mad coughing fit as Sans doubles up in laughter. 

" _Water_ you doing?" He says, wiping the glowing blue tears from the corner of his eyes. "I think you might be drinking wrong." He pats your back with his free hand as you try your damned hardest to breathe.

"The QUEEN?" Your eyes are wide open as you look down at what you're wearing. A white tank top, ripped black skinny jeans and a pair of sneakers… Eh? “I- I called the queen Goat mom??” You have officially ceased to exist. Good bye. Deb who? Nobody’s home. Leave a message.

"I didn't think there was someone who didn't know the name of the monster queen. What with all the drama when we first came to the surface. The King’s here too, by the way." He replies with a smirk as he takes a swig from his bottle of ketchup. 

"I-" before you can reply, you’re cut off by a loud NYEH-HEH-HEH, as Undyne and Papyrus burst out from the house and toss what appears to be a shitload of already-filled water guns out into the garden. You notice that buckets of pre-filled water balloons have appeared around the garden as Toriel hurriedly covers the remaining food on the table in a vain bid to protect it from the ensuing chaos. 

“NGAHHH!!! WATER FIGHT!!!” Undyne tosses a whole bucket of water balloons over the monster crowd and throws glowing blue spears through them, drenching everyone standing underneath. You watch as Frisk and every other monster dashes to pick up either a water gun or a water balloon to arm themselves for battle. 

You turn to look at Sans, who gives you a two-finger salute as he blips away into non-existence.

“I’M MAD BECAUSE THAT’S SO COOL!” You roar in mock rage as you pick up a water gun and turn towards the nearest monster. You notice that the unarmed washing machine-bathtub monster has (literally) no arms, and hesitate for a second, only to be gratuitously sprayed right in the face with a jet of water. “Wosh u face.” It cries out, and it flees before you can retaliate. 

“NO MORE MERCY!!” You charge through the garden with an epic battle cry and spray every monster in sight. At some point in time during your super battles, Kiwi hops off your shoulder and into the house.

-

“Take that, pipsqueak!” Undyne cries out as she tosses a huge cluster of water bombs above you and pierces them all with a single spear. With a squeal, you squat down and try your best to cover your head with your arms as the equivalent of a thunderstorm rains down upon you. You stand back up with a hearty laugh as you try to retaliate, only to find that you’ve run out of ammo. Luckily, Papyrus has drawn Undyne’s attention by pelting a defenseless Alphys with a barrage of water bombs. As Undyne charges to her rescue, you wander around the garden while dodging stray water bombs in search of a refill point. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Sans napping on the sofa inside the house. 

Stifling a giggle, you take off your shoes and sneak quietly into the house. 

“Hands where I can see em’!” You’re standing a few feet away from Sans and have your newly refilled water gun pointed right at him. 

One of his eyelights flickers a bit as Sans sits up and looks at you. He’s smug as he says, “You can’t shoot me, you’ll ruin the furniture.” 

You think about it for a second. This _is_ the queen’s house afterall... But then a brilliant idea hits you as you drop the water gun with a smirk and charge at him. Before he can respond, you’re wrapped around his upper body, clinging to him like a koala. You’re drenched to the _bone_ , ha! And your wet clothes soak whichever part of his clothes you’re in contact with. You’re so impressed with yourself and afraid of his retaliation that you fail to notice how his face lights up in a brilliant shade of blue. You jump off him and dash out of the house, “You snooze, you lose, bone boy!” You’re all kinds of proud as you turn back to gloat, only to see that the sofa is now empty.

“ _Water_ you looking for?” You whip your head back to see Sans standing in front of you, armed with the water gun you left behind. You don’t even have time to point out how lame it is that he’s reusing his puns again before you’re drowning in the consequence of your own machinations. 

You lie down flat on the patio in surrender, panting, “Ugh, fine, you win!!” 

Chuckling, Sans lowers the now empty water gun and plops down beside you. “You look like you’ve had a splashing good time.”  
  
“That’s not even a pun.” You groan, but you can’t help the smile on your face anyway. 

You sit back up and stretch your tired arms, “Man, I am waaaaay too old for this.” Sans turns to you and is about to reply, but he quickly looks away. Taking off his blue hoodie, he clears his non-existent throat awkwardly and hands it to you while watching the water fight in the garden with sudden interest. “Hey uh, you might wanna put this on, kid.” 

You tilt your head in confusion and are about to reject his offer when a wave of embarrassment batters against your soul. Your eyebrows raise as something suddenly comes to mind. Ah, riiiiiiiight. White clothes didn’t exactly hold up well under water. You stick your tongue out slightly in embarrassment as a blush makes its way up your cheeks. You shrug into his once fluffy, now drenched hoodie. “It’s wet though.” You lament, flailing his too-long sleeves.

He rolls his eyelights as he gives you a pointed look, “And whose fault is that?” You giggle sheepishly as he turns back to the garden with a deep chuckle. You notice that his smile is actually genuine, much unlike his usual ones. You don’t know why, but you’re kind of proud to be the reason for it. 

You hear the patter of feet as Kiwi appears from inside the house and nudges your elbow. You draw your knees to your chest, place her on your shoulder and cross your arms. 

The both of you sit in comfortable silence as you watch what Undyne declares as the ‘Ultimate Battle Royale’. 

  
  
  
  



	5. Honesty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Papyrus meet Ashley

The Ultimate Battle Royale ends with an epic final fight between Undyne and Papyrus. Sitting on the patio, you marvel at the creative ways magic can be used in a water balloon battle, for what must be the hundredth time that day. 

When the battle is over, you all help to pick up the empty water balloons and throw them away, while fire monsters like a kawaii volcano and ropey-canon-ball-thing wander around to help everyone dry off. 

“Works hard! Works hot!” You turn around and notice the blushing volcano walking up to you.

“That’s a Vulkin.” Sans explains. You coo over how cute this little volcano is, as you rub your hands together over her lava and bounce on the spot to shake the water off your sleeves. Sans comes to stand beside Vulkin with a chuckle. He’s not completely drenched, but he’s not exactly _bone dry_ either. You giggle to yourself, and Sans throws a questioning look in your direction. 

When everyone is done cleaning up and the monsters are drying off, Toriel comes back out with a massive three-tiered birthday cake. 

“That’s a damn fine cake.” You breathe, marvelling at the intricacies of its design.

“Toriel made that herself.” Sans turns to you. “And I helped.”

“No way!” You turn to him with a gasp. “That’s amazing, Sans!”

“Yeah, I taste tested and everything.” He snickers, and you roll your eyes. 

“Wooow, must’ve been hard.”

“Nah, was a piece of cake.” Sans looks real proud of himself and you both burst out laughing. Okay, you should’ve seen that one coming. You practically set him up for it.

Everyone claps and cheers as Frisk blows out the candles on their birthday cake.

As they start to give out cut slices of cake, Undyne and Alphys wander over to you and you startle when Undyne slaps you on the back. Oof.

“There you are, nerd! We’ve been looking for ya!” 

“Y-Yeah! We w-wanted to invite you t-to our anime night.”

“Anime night?” Your eyes are sparkling as you hope it’s what you think it is.

“Yeah! Alphys and I have anime night every Friday, where we drink and watch anime through the night. If you come, we can watch the Attack on Titan.”  
“O-or the S-Seven Deadly Sins or O-One Piece!” Alphys adds on as she waves her claws excitedly. You can tell that she’s real passionate about anime, because her cheeks flush red as she lists down a few other anime titles. With Kiwi on your shoulder, her bubbling emotions are muted such that her excitement lightly touches you instead of slapping you in the face. Reaching to stroke her between her eyes, you have no idea how you would have survived this monster party without this fluffy bunny.

“Of course! I’ll be there like my life depends on it!” And it does, because your otaku soul has been so lonely for so long.

“Great! Sans and Papyrus will probably be there too, by the way.”

You turn to Sans with surprise, “You watch anime?”

“It’s alright.” He shrugs, “Paps loves hanging out with Undyne, and we live in the same apartment building as they do.”

“Great! See ya at 7, nerds!”

“B-bye!”

Undyne and Alphys hold hands and walk away after you’ve traded numbers. From what you already know of Undyne, she’s probably gone to push Frisk’s face into- yup, called it! Frisk is covered in birthday cake, and it almost escalates into a food fight. Luckily, Toriel manages to stop the very dangerous fish, who’s already grabbed another handful of cake, with a very pointed glare. You didn’t know that Undyne could look sheepish.

-

**Snas**

You get back home okay?

**Debs**

Yeah! Thanks for calling Ash for me 

**Snas**

S'fine. Glad there wasn't any lasting water damage to your phone

-

You roll around on your sofa, happy and fresh out of the shower.

"Somebody's in a good mood~" Ashley pokes your phone teasingly. "Who are you texting?" 

You realise that you've been smiling to yourself, and you blush.

"You know that guy who helped to call you today?" 

"The skeleton in blue?" She grins knowingly, "You like him?" 

You put your phone down and fiddle with your hands, "I- I.. maybe... He's nice to be around."

"Scoot over." 

You tuck your knees into your chest to give Ash some space on the sofa. As she sits down beside you, you straighten your legs out again and over her lap. 

"So what's the problem?" Ashley looks at you as she pats your legs. "Is it because he's a skeleton?" 

"Nooooooooo" you whine. If only it was that easy. 

"Is it because he doesn't like you, then?" Ashley's been your best friend since absolutely forever, and she knows everything about you. Everything. She's practically the sole reason you're alive and retained some semblance of your sanity.

"It's not that." You know that he feels a little something for you too. He was such a powerful monster after all, so you could sense his emotions without trying. You bite your lower lip in frustration and deflate. "You know I'm complicated. He doesn't know anything and it wouldn't be fair." 

"Then just tell him."

"Should I?" You cock your head to the side and look at Ashley. You didn't like sitting around and doing nothing anyway. You were a do-first, suffer-later kind of person.

"Yeah, but you gotta let me meet him first." She says while leaning over to ruffle your still-wet hair. "Why don't you invite him for dinner one day?" 

You mull the idea over, but not for too long. You realise that you really want to. Decision made, you sit back up and give Ashley a big hug and a peck on her cheek, "Thanks Ash, you're the best." 

"Don't I know it." She hugs you back before she heads off for her turn in the shower. You pick your phone back up to text Sans.

-

**Debs**

Knock knock

**Snas**

Who's there?

**Debs**

Howard

**Snas**

Howard who?

**Debs**

Howard you and Paps like to come over for dinner?

**Snas**

Really? What's the occasion?

**Debs**

I wanna introduce you guys to Ashley. She'd love to meet you and Paps!

**Snas**

You sure she's not just gonna take revenge on your behalf?

**Debs**

Yeah, scouts honour!

**Snas**

You're not even a scout

**Debs**

Exactly 

**Snas**

… Only if it's not pasta 

**Debs**

Why? Not _stroganoff_ to take it? 

**Snas**

Don't be _fusilli._ If I have to eat another plate of pasta, I'll be _raviolling_ on the floor.

-

You giggle as you trade silly text messages through the night.

-

It's almost a month later before you actually get around to having that dinner with Sans and Papyrus.

"Knock knock." 

"SANS. THERE IS A DOORBELL RIGHT THERE. IT MAKES NO LOGICAL SENSE FOR YOU TO ACTUALLY SAY KNOCK KNOCK. IT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE TO KNOCK ON THE DOOR. HOW WILL HUMAN DEBS KNOW WE’RE HERE?"

"Who's there!" You normally really wouldn't be able to hear them, but you'd been pacing around your door since twenty minutes ago. Ashley would've teased you for wearing a hole into the ground if she wasn't busy cooking in the kitchen.

You hear Papyrus' anguished groan.

"Lettuce."

"Lettuce who?"

"Lettuce in. It's cold out here!" 

You laugh as you open the door, "Sorry! Didn't know skeletons could feel the cold." 

"WE CAN'T, ACTUALLY! HELLO HUMAN DEBS." 

"Yeah, it goes right through us." Sans says with a wink. "So we gonna just stand here or what?" 

"Oops, sorry! Hello! Come in, please!" You step aside to let the brothers in.

"I BROUGHT YOU A GIFT, HUMAN DEBS." Papyrus says as he hands you a bone painting. "IT'S A CLASSIC!"

"Thanks, Paps! I love it!" Papyrus watches you so eagerly that you immediately look in the drawers for one of those stick-on hooks and hang the painting up on the wall.

You turn back around to see Papyrus' eyes glued to your shoulder. Or more specifically, the rabbit on your shoulder.

"Wanna hold her?" 

"CAN I?" Papyrus' eyes have turned into literal stars as you lift Kiwi and place her into his arms. He cradles her with surprising gentleness and skips into your living room. 

You lead Sans to the kitchen and introduce him to Ashley.

"Hey Ash, this is Sans! His brother, Papyrus, is in the living room playing with Kiwi. I'll introduce you later."

"Hi Sans, heard much about you." Ashley wipes her hands on her apron as she reaches out for a handshake.

As Sans shakes her hand, you and Ashley startle at the sound of a whoopie cushion.

"Is that how you greet a new pal?" You ask in disbelief and you raise your eyebrows as high as you possibly can.

"I can see why you and Debs get along." Ashley chuckles good naturedly. "Oh, could the two of you help me out? Muffet's bakery just called. Their delivery van broke down and they won't be able to deliver the spider doughnuts I ordered. Dinner will be ready in about an hour." 

"Okay!" You reply. You absolutely adore Muffet's doughnuts. Actually, you're a sucker for magic food in general. It fizzles away in your tummy and feels real great.

"Let's take my bike!" You dangle your keys and shake them at him.

"Uh, how about a safer option? Besides, uh… what if you ruin the doughnuts?"

"Boooooooo. Fine." You concede. You probably **would** end up ruining the doughnuts. "But you gotta let me take you for a ride one day."

" _Wheelie_ see." 

-

You and Sans end up driving there in your baby blue sports car to pick up the doughnuts and are now sitting at the park nearby because you insisted on seeing the ducks.

"Where are my ducks??" You cry in exasperation. You dragged Sans across the entire park, but not a single duck was in sight.

"You're such a _quack_." Sans says as he flops into a park bench.

"I just hoped I could _wing_ it." You pout as you sit down beside him. 

"I don't know _waddle_ you expected. It's winter. The pond is frozen solid." 

The realisation hits you like a truck.

"Well why did you let me do it???" You throw your hands in the air and stand up in disbelief.

Sans laughs so hard that light blue tears form around his eyesockets. "C-cant breathe-" he chokes out, clutching his sides. 

"You don't even need to breathe." You grumble as you sit back down with your hands in your pockets. 

As his full on laughter dies down into a chuckle, he turns to you with a question.

“Can I ask you something?” He asks as he turns to pet Kiwi. She closes her eyes and leans into his touch, purring with her teeth.

You don’t sense any apprehension from him despite the sudden loaded question, so you relax.

“Shoot.”

“What’s up with you and your rabbit?” He sounds casual, but you realise that he’s a lot more observant than you give him credit for.

“She calms me.” You pick Kiwi off your shoulder and place her on your lap. “Hmmm… You know how most humans barely have any magic power?” 

He hums, and waits patiently for you to continue. 

“Just like how monsters have varying levels of magic power, humans do too, right? Well… Humans like me with more magic are what you monsters call mages.” You pause to study his reaction.

Sans isn’t surprised, though you thought he would be.

“I had a hunch.” He explains, “I’m pretty good at sensing emotions myself. I’m pretty sensitive towards a person’s soul.”

“You mean, you knew? That I can sense emotions?”

“Uh, yeah. T’was pretty obvious after awhile. I first noticed that you react easily to a person’s shift in emotions. It’s slight, but it’s there. It got more apparent when I started to pay attention.” He offers without you needing to ask. “Though, I don’t really know the extent or how it works.”

“Well, one of the quirks of my magic is that I can read, or rather, feel the emotions of others. I don’t intentionally try to, it just comes naturally for me. Negative emotions are harder to block out than positive ones, and... apparently, the more powerful the monster, the more intense the emotions hit me. It’s related to their magic power.” You take a deep breath. Sans doesn’t rush you. 

“When I was young I… was with a lot of people who didn’t exactly like me. They weren’t monsters, so they didn’t have much magic, but they just… yeah they just _really_ hated me I guess. So they didn’t need to be full of magic power for me it to hit me hard anyway. I freaked out that day at the party because... I guess the negative emotions of two super powerful hardcore monsters triggered some bad memories.”

Sans winces, “Sorry, kid.”

You chuckle humorlessly, “Don’t be. Anyway, Kiwi functions as a kind of shield for me. Can’t leave home without her.” You give her a scratch behind the ears.

“When she’s touching me, it’s a lot easier to block out the emotions of those around me. She didn’t use to be that effective when she was younger, but I realised that as she aged, she’s helped to block out a lot more. Now, unless a person’s feelings are particularly intense, if she’s touching me, I won’t sense it unless I intentionally try.”

“How does that work?” He raises his brow bones and places a hand on her back, trying to sense something.

“Not a clue.” You shrug. You really have no idea. “Does it work for you?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t think so.”

You hop to your feet in an attempt to lighten the mood and look at your watch, “We should head back. Ashley gets grumpy whenever I’m late. She won’t stop nagging once she starts.” You grin, but you know Sans can tell you’re faking.

You place Kiwi back on your shoulder as he shuffles to his feet and walks beside you to the car.

“Hey, Sans?”

“Yeah, Kid?”

“Doesn’t it bother you? Y’know, that I’m a mage?” After all, everyone knows that mages were the ones who trapped the monsters inside the mountain for god knows how long. You shouldn’t be surprised if that puts a distance between you. You shouldn’t, but you don’t want him to. You brace your heart and fiddle with your fingers. You don’t even dare to look at him.

“Can I hold Kiwi for a sec?” You both stop walking.  
You tilt your head in confusion, but you pass Kiwi over to him.

He takes Kiwi from you with one hand and ruffles your hair with the other.

All at once, his protective feelings for you surge around your wounded soul like a cocoon. There isn't an ounce of condemnation, and you're stunned into silence by how much he genuinely cares for you. 

You cover your face with your hands, but you can’t stop the tears that flow down your cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NGAHHH! I hate the formatting.
> 
> If you read this before 6pm GMT+8, there was a major edit.


	6. A little closer

You make it just in time for dinner AND you only had to go 130 km/h above the speed limit! You turn to Sans to gloat about how you won the bet, but he looks like he needs a minute or two to compose himself. His grin is still on his face, but his eyelights have disappeared. Was he just closing his eyes? Or was this his version of a soulless gaze?

Snickering, you grab the box of spider doughnuts from his lap and walk around to pull Sans out of the car.

“You gotta help me out here, buddy.” For a guy who's a whole skin less than skin and bones, he’s really heavy and you literally can’t move him at all. His eyelights flicker back on and to you, as he lets you pull him up. Trudging slowly after you, he mutters something about how bets that threatened his life were stupid.

“Ash, we’re back! And we brought the doughnuts!” Popping into the kitchen, you find Ashley playing a game of Connect Four with Papyrus. It seems you guys got home right on time, as Papyrus clutches the sides of his head with a “NYOO-HOO-HOO” when Ashley slides in the final red piece that seals her victory.

“Come on Paps, you won the last six games! You gotta give me this one!” Ashley laughs as she pats Papyrus on the shoulder. You raise your eyebrows. They must have gotten along well if Ashley was already on a nickname basis with Papyrus in the short hour you were gone. 

Ashley clears the game away as you and Papyrus help to set the table. 

“Hey, these burgers are really good.” Sans comments as he takes a bite of Ashley’s homemade burger. “I’d just _relish_ a little ketchup.” 

Papyrus groans. “WHY DO YOU INSIST ON RUINING A PERFECTLY GOOD DINNER WITH YOUR PUNS?”

“Okay, I’ll bite. You don’t really drink ketchup, right? You were just tryna’ mess with me that day at the party.” You squint at him accusatorily.

“NO, HUMAN DEBS. AS MUCH AS I WISH IT WERE SO, SANS DOES INDEED LOVE TO DRINK KETCHUP.”

“Eeeeeew! What! You’re shitting me.” You stick out your tongue, and you stare at Sans in mock horror. 

“Hey, if your favourite food came in a bottle, you’d drink it too.” Sans points his fork at you in defense.

“But it’s not even that liquidy, how does it go down your throat?”

“Obviously, I don’t have a throat.”

“Then why do you always cough to clear it?”  
“Touché.”

The lighthearted banter continues as you head to the kitchen cabinet to bring the bottle of ketchup out for your favourite skeleton. 

When you’ve all had your fill of desert, everyone helps to clear the table. 

“Debs and Papyrus, you guys are in charge of throwing away the trash. Sans and I can do the dishes.” Ashley starts to delegate the cleaning roles.

“Are you sure? You cooked, so I should wash the dishes. That’s fair!” You protest and walk towards the sink.

“No no, that’s fine.” Ashley says as she hands you the trash bag and the box of spider doughnuts while pushing you out the door. “Oh and we have some leftover doughnuts too, so why don’t you head over to Mrs Cherry’s place down the street. She can give the extras to her kids. Papyrus, would you be a dear and go with Debs? She’s tiny but likes to get into trouble. Can I trust you to take care of her, please?”

“Hey, that’s only like ten minutes away. I won’t get into trouble!” You pout.  
“YES, HUMAN ASHLEY. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.” He gives her a salute and marches off in the wrong direction, so you grab your jacket before chasing after him with a giggle.

“Well now.” Ashley turns to Sans as she shuts the door, “Let’s get to cleaning, shall we?”

Ashley starts soaping the dishes as Sans comes beside her to rise them off and dry them. After a minute or so of silence, Ashley’s the first to speak.

“Something happened during the doughnut pick up, didn’t it?”

“Uh…” 

“Whenever she gets a little down, she always overcompensates by pumping more energy into it.”

Heh, he noticed that too.

“...Yeah, we took a little detour and she told me a little. A little about her magic and a little about her past.”

Ashley stops soaping the plate, and she turns to study Sans closely. Unsure of what to do, Sans gives the plate in his hands extra attention.

Seemingly satisfied by what she sees, Ashley turns back and hands her plate over to Sans.

“Don’t hurt her, okay? She deserves to be happy.”

Sans hesitates before he gently takes the plate from her hands,“I know.” 

The rest of the washing continues in a more comfortable silence.

When they’re both done washing the dishes, Ashley stretches and leans on the counter.

“Do you think she or Paps noticed that I sent her away on purpose?”

“Nah, they’re both a little ditzy.” He says with a chuckle.

“Yeah, but they’re our ditzies.”

-

“We’re back!” You call out as you open the front door.

“AND I AM PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE MISSION WAS COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY. NYEH-HEH-HEH.”

“You’re the best, Paps.” Sans grins from the sofa. “Comeon, it’s time to head home. I have work tomorrow and you have school.”

“Awwwww already? Boooooo.” You whine, not ready for the day to end. 

“I had a great time.” Ashley says as she walks out of the kitchen, “Feel free to come over for dinner again anytime.”

“OR MAYBE YOU COULD COME OVER TO OUR PLACE. I WOULD BE GLAD TO COOK US SOME DELICIOUS FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI.”

“Oh yes!” You’re stoked that you get another chance to try Papyrus’ friendship spaghetti. You’re nodding your head too quickly in agreement that you fail to notice Sans’ perpetual grin falter into a slight grimace.

Papyrus gives Kiwi a pat, then hugs you and Ashley goodbye as he and Sans disappear with a blip.

You watch the space where they disappeared with child-like wonder as Ashley hugs you from behind. She rests her chin on the top of your head and you tilt your head up questioningly.

“Take care of yourself, okay?” Ashley says. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

You turn around to return Ashley’s hug. “I will.”

“And you were supposed to wait until I actually got to meet him properly before you told him anything.” She knocks her forehead to yours as punishment.

You stick your tongue out and giggle as you rub your slightly bruised forehead. Sans must have told her while you were gone. “Oops.” 

-

You’re now wandering around Kalen University determinedly with a few boxes of macarons and cupcakes in your hands.

“Hi! How do I get to the physics department?” You notice a few students looking at you, so you take the opportunity to ask.

“J-just head towards that building and turn right. Then, go straight till you see Subway. Then, it’ll be on your left.” 

“Left after Subway?” You confirm.

“That’s right.” The student nods. 

“Thank you!” You try to wave goodbye, but forget that you’re carrying the boxes of food with both hands, and you almost drop them all to the ground. Luckily, your barely adequate hand-eye coordination saves the day. 

You hum a little tune as you head towards the physics department.

On the way there, however, you notice a lot of heads turning to stare at you. As the students whisper pointedly in your direction, You remember how uncommon it is for a person to walk around with a pet rabbit on their shoulder. You kind of shrink in to yourself, hoping you’ll stop being the centre of attention. 

When you find Subway, you stop in front of it and mutter to yourself, “So the guy said it was on my left… right? Right? Did he say left is right, or that I should turn right?” You’re trying to figure it out when a voice cuts off your train of thought. 

“Hey babe, are you lost?” 

You look up to see the typical fuckboy standing in your way. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a few of his friends standing there watching him. You roll your eyes internally. The guy was just here because he had something to prove.

“Nope, I’m fine.” You smile politely. You’re in a school, there’s no need for violence. You can handle this like a demure, civilised lady.

“I’ll say you’re more than fine. You must be from Tennessee, because you’re the only ten I see.” 

Eew. The pun throws you off guard, because you love Sans’ puns, but for some reason, this one makes you feel like throwing up. The prick seems to take your silence as motivation to continue.

By the time you come back to your senses and start to excuse yourself from the awkward conversation, he actually lifts Kiwi off your shoulder and says, “Why don’t you stop playing hard to get? You’re obviously trying to catch a guy’s attention." 

He steps closer. "Comeon babe, I was the Prom King at my high school, you’re not going to get better than me.” 

What the hell was a Prom King? Was that like a reference to One Piece? 

That was your last coherent thought before he snaked a hand around your waist. Shit. Their emotions are always more potent when they're touching you.

With Kiwi off your shoulder and without the free hands to snatch her back, you’re suddenly overwhelmed by his lust mixed with irritation at your non compliance. His sick pleasure gained at your expense throws you off kilter. 

Suddenly, Kiwi’s back on your shoulder and Sans is standing in the middle of you and the fuckboy. You taste the sweet relief of having Kiwi back on you and you pull yourself together.

“Leave. Now.” He growls. Like, he _actually_ growls. Your mind has recovered enough to wonder what Sans is doing here and how a skeleton can growl. 

“P-professor Sans, I-” The guy stammers.

You don’t know what kind of look Sans gives him because his back is to you, but he hastily mumbles an apology as he leaves with his group of friends.

“Oh my god, you’re a professor? I knew you were smart! Why didn’t you tell me you worked here!” He takes a second to turn around to face you, and you bounce over to him with a wide smile. He was your hero! Your knight in shining armour~ 

Instead of replying you, he smushes your face with both hands. 

“Uh Shansh-?” You look at him quizzically as he pinches and pulls your cheeks. “Wha- Whada oo dooinnn?” 

After a few more seconds, he takes a deep breath and seems to look you up and down before he nods and releases your poor abused cheeks. 

Suddenly, a blue aura of magic surrounds the boxes you’re carrying and they’re lifted into the air. The boxes drift behind him as he walks to the left. You knew it was the left!

“Is that telekinesis??? Holy shit!” You run to catch up with it, eyes sparkling in amazement. You’re obviously captivated by the most amazing display of magic you’ve ever seen in your life. It was cooler than Undyne’s blue spears because this let you be lazy. You loved being productively lazy! 

Sans chuckles, grateful for your short attention span.

“You’re delivering this for the party at the physics department, right? I heard my colleague mention that she bought some snacks from ‘Deja Brew’.” Sans leads you to the second level of the physics building.

“Yeah, I am!” You’re still staring at your floating boxes. “They paid me extra to deliver it directly to the venue.”

Sans sets the boxes down on the table as he says, “Here we are.” 

You poke the boxes and feel the tingle of the remaining magic. You giggle at the sensation as you wiggle your fingers. “Thanks, Sans!” 

He ruffles your hair as he asks, “Wanna see my office?” 

If you had a tail, you’d be wagging it. As it is, your eyes are shining with excitement at the opportunity to peek into his office and know a little more about him. 

“Hell yeah!” You say, as you skip along beside him. 

  
  
  
  



	7. Stourton Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> plot development. cliffhanger.

Sans leads you inside his office, and you take a look around. Papers are stacked high on his table and books of all sizes litter the floor. There’s also a plant in the corner of the room and oooooh is that a little trash tornado? You squat down beside it to observe crumpled pieces of paper and something like a super shiny candy twist and float around in it like haphazard figure eights. Oooooooh so prettyyyyyy.

By the time Sans turns around to face you, you already have the candy in your mouth. Mmmmm it’s strawberry.

"...What are you eating?" He didn't notice you eating anything before you got here.

"Candy." You fold the shiny wrapper and put it carefully in your jeans pocket.

"Where’d you get the candy?" 

You point at his trash tornado.

"Wha- What are you? A child? Why do you just eat anything you see?" Sans looks a little exasperated.

"I saw it floating in there, so I just wanted to see if I could catch it!" You wave your hands and explain, "Then I caught it and I saw that it was strawberry, so I ate it." You finish sheepishly, voice tapering off at the end. Oh no, was he saving it for later? 

Sans bursts into laughter and doesn’t stop. A minute in and he has to hold on to the side of his table for support. It was just so you to say nothing about his pigsty of an office, choosing instead to take and actually **eat** a piece of candy from his trash tornado. You even looked sheepish getting caught for it, that look telling him that you were guilty because you thought he'd wanted the candy instead.

Stars above.

You wait patiently for him to finish laughing as you take the opportunity to plop yourself into his squishy office chair.

“Hey Sans, what’s a prom king?” You ask when his laughter dies down. You’re still puzzling over what that guy said.

Sans stops laughing and wipes the tears from his eyes, a little confused. That was a random question.

“What do you mean?”

“The guy just now. He said he was the Prom King at his former high school. Is that an actual thing?”  
His brow bones furrow slightly at the mention of the incident just now, but it just as quickly smooths out. “Uh, from what I’ve heard, a prom is a school dance, and the Prom King is decided upon by the student body. They vote for their favourite guy or whatever, I don’t know. It’s a human thing. Aren’t you the human?”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t go to highschool so I wouldn’t know.” You say as you spin around in his chair.

“Oh? Why not?” 

“Homeschooled.” You smile, “I had to learn things that normal schools didn’t teach.”

“Like, mage things?” Sans half sits on his desk.

“No, I’m the only mage in the family. My grandparents adopted me. Uhm…. it might be easier to show you.” You stop spinning the chair. “Wanna head to the mall? The big one over at Westlake.”

“The mall?” Sans prided himself in being able to understand people, but for some reason, he couldn’t catch up to your train of thought at all.

“Yeah! The mall.” You hop off the chair and give a full stretch with a soft moan. Man those boxes were heavy. “Are you done for the day?”

“Yeah, the party’s optional.” Sans replies with a shrug. His cheeks are dusted with a tiny bit of baby blue for some reason.

He’s also given up trying to understand anything you do. “Okay sure, let’s go to the mall… hey. We’re not driving, are we?”

“Course’ we are! How else would we go! I couldn’t carry cupcakes on my bike.”

As relieved that Sans is about the fact that he does not have to ride there on your motorbike, he is not ready to step back in your car.

“I have a better idea. Hold tight.” He places his hand on your shoulder as the world in front of you disappears only to be replaced by a different scene a second later.

He wraps an arm around your waist when you land, ready to support you.

You blush at the sudden physical intimacy, but you realise that you just teleported.

‘OHHHHHHH MY- SANS? DID WE JUST TELEPORT?” Your eyes are wide as you look around you.

“You… You’re not giddy or anything? No nausea?”

“Why would I be nauseous?” You didn’t feel a thing. It was like you were there one second, and now you were here. It was bewildering, and a little disarming, but nothing you couldn’t easily get used to.

“Hmm…” He ponders, seemingly taking a mental note. Frisk always retched the first few times he took them along on his teleportation. Meh, he’d figure it out later, if ever.

“Hey Sa-” 

“De-” 

He looks down as you turn to face him, and you’re both suddenly extremely close because Sans’ arm is still around you. 

“Sorry!” Sans lets you go as he takes a step back. You notice that his face is shining a brilliant shade of blue. How pretty. 

“Anyway, we’re in the mall. What did you wanna show me?” His says as his blush fades to a baby blue. 

You tear your eyes away from him as you lead him to the atrium. Standing in the centre, you spin a whole round before saying, “Have you heard of the family that owns this place?” 

“Yeah, the Stourtons.” Sans nods in reply. 

When the monsters first came to the surface, they had to deal with political leaders and business leaders alike. The corporate and government sectors were not as separate as most people believed. The Stourtons were the most influential family in the country. Aside from some international businesses held overseas, they also owned 45% of all local businesses, legally or not. They possessed multiple parent companies, which branched out into various small, medium and large enterprises. Sans had more than his fair share of having to deal with their piece of shit spokesperson when they were trying to carve out land for the monsters to live on. 

“Mmhmm.” You nod. “Follow me.”  
You lead Sans into a fancy wallet shop. Then again, everything in this mall is fancy. 

Sans is beyond confused as he watches while you occasionally pick wallets up and put them down again. He panders to you by answering your questions on whether they’re his type or not or which ones suit you best.

You know he’s wondering what the hell is going on but you don’t know how to explain. Would he even believe you? The easiest way was for you to just show him.

A few moments later, Sans notices the shop manager walk into the shop, trailing behind a man in a three-piece suit. For some reason, they both stop in front of you, and Sans’ first reaction is to assume that you're both in trouble for being in a monster-free store. He’s about to tell them that he’s leaving, when the man in the suit greets you by name.

“Ms Debby, welcome. The office did not tell us you were coming.” He straightens his tie, and it appears as if he’s rushed in from someplace else. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit here today? Mr Steven did mention that one of the chief officers would be coming down sometime next week, but we did not expect for you to be here as well. Otherwise, we would have informed our staff to prepare a proper reception. Our sincere apologies for our lack of hospitality.” 

“The pleasure is mine, Alex. Not to worry, I’m not here on official business. It's purely for leisure, I assure you.” You smile politely, coldly. Your posture also stiffens and Sans realises that he’s never seen this side of you before. 

"Our apologies, nonetheless."

“Your staff are well trained.” You nod at the poor manager. You're a little guilty for using him. Alex, the owner of the mall looks like he wasn't even in the mall to begin with and had rushed down just for you. The least you can do is to assure them that they have nothing to worry about. "And your collection is unparalleled as always."

"You're too kind, Ms Debby. May I have the honor of showing you our latest designs?"

“You may be at ease, Alex, there is no need to accompany me. I would hate to take you away from any important business.”  
Alex looks like he’s about to disagree, but he tosses a quick glance at the clock on the wall.

“Regretfully, I am due for a meeting with the board, but do not hesitate to look for the staff if you should find yourself in need of any assistance. Good day, Ms Debby.” He shakes your hand, then turns to Sans with a nod. “And to you too, Good Sir.” 

As Alex leaves the shop, the manager stands around awkwardly, hovering behind the two of you as if he isn’t sure whether to remain here or to go back to the safety of the storeroom. 

To his relief, you’re done with what you came here for and you turn to Sans to ask if he still wants to look around. 

After you’ve both walked out of the store, you cradle Kiwi in your arms. It’d been a long time since you showed your face here, and you’re sure your relatives will hear of your visit today. Sigh, you weren’t looking forward to that. 

Suddenly, your stomach rumbles. You notice that it’s already past 530pm. No wonder you’re so hungry! You haven’t eaten all day.

“Hungry?” You turn to Sans with a grin.

“I know just the place.” He ruffles your hair as you blip out of the mall.

-

You land in front of a rustic bar. Sans leads the way and pushes the front door open.

“Welcome to Grillby’s.” Sans says, as he shuffles into a booth and hands you the menu. You can’t stop staring at the hot barkeeper. Like, literally on fire kinda hot. His, uh, head is made up by a single ball of fire, as is the rest of his hair and body. His face is framed by a rectangle pair of black-rimmed spectacles, and his broad shoulders lead down to tight shirt sleeves that outline his toned arms. For a guy with no face, the barkeeper is impossibly attractive.

As you’re checking the barkeeper out, you notice Sans glowering before he turns his gaze back to the menu. “When you’re done ogling Grillby, I recommend the burgers and fries.” He grins. 

“Hey! Beauty is free to be admired by all.” You stick your tongue out at him. “Burgers and fries sound good.” You nod your head in agreement as you look at the menu. “I also need a drink. Or three. Or twenty.” 

“Me too.” Sans says as he orders the food.

One bite into your burger and you’re melting into a puddle at how good it tastes.

"So-"

"Shh-" You silence the heathen who ruined his masterpiece of a burger with an obscene amount of ketchup. You close your eyes to cherish this moment and try to burn it into your memory forever till the end of time. 

"It's so gooooooooood!" You flop your head on the table, sad that all the food is already gone.

"Maybe you should skip the drinks, you're already acting drunk." Sans chuckles, glad to have found someone who might love Grillby's as much as he does.

"Speak for yourself, I have never gotten drunk." You lift your head back up as Sans calls on Grillby to start serving the drinks.

You swirl the sparkling cup of monster alcohol in between your fingers and take a sip. You feel the magic drink fizzle away in your belly. It feels nice and warm.

"You know those Reddit forums?" You turn to Sans and ask.

"Yeah? I've seen a few. Why?" 

"Here's one- I'm twenty three and I'm the adopted daughter of the Stourton Family." You down the shot, "Ask me anything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my best to explain some things in this chapter.  
> If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask! although some things are intentionally enigmatic... huehue
> 
> Also, considering that the undertale craze has died out, I'm amazed to see people actually following this story with me.


	8. Strawberry pudding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> poor sans ):

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Vulgarities, Sans is emo too. Depression warnings? Not a clue.
> 
> Enjoy the double release!

To your defense, you did not expect monster alcohol to be that strong. 

Sans also did not expect for you to get wasted after a single shot. He couldn't understand why the hell you would tell him that you had a strong alcohol tolerance and request for like, twenty shots of alcohol, even if it was an exaggeration. Was it because it was monster alcohol? He didn’t know if it reacted differently for humans? 

Regardless, he objectively failed to explain that the magic in the alcohol would be absorbed straight into your bloodstream quicker than a cow could say yahoo! Could a cow say yahoo? Right, it would say yamoo… Well that sounds stupid, yahoo must be the right answer. 

"Hey Grillbz, put it on my tab!" Sans calls out as he tries to figure out what to do with your blubbering mess.

Sans has to pry a disheveled rabbit from your hands before you actually take a bite out of her fur, as you whine about how you don't want to share your world famous cotton candy. 

He teleports the both of you back to your house, but the lights are off, which means that Ashley isn't home.

Sans turns on the light and takes his phone out to call Ashley. Meanwhile, you're downright offended that the low dining table in your living room had the damned audacity to get in your way of your budding love story with your sofa. You summon your magic power and place a hand on the table, willing it to turn into a statue of Mr Krabs that you hate from SpongeBob Square pants. That'll teach it a lesson. Except it totally didn't turn into a statue, because how could you control your magic while you were totally hammered? 

The table turns into a giant strawberry pudding instead, but that's okay you can give it to Sans. You’re so sorry you stole his strawberry candy.

"Hey Sans, here's your candy back!" You wave to him, hoping he’ll be proud of you.

"What the fuck-" Sans stares at what used to be your dining room table as Ashley picks up the call.

"Sans? What's up?" Ashley's voice comes through the receiver.

"Uh….."

Your drunk brain takes Sans' silence as a rejection and you start to tear up. "Is it because it doesn't have a shiny wrapper?" You reach into your jeans pocket and fish out the wrinkled but still sparkly candy wrapper that you took from Sans' tornado. Before you have to return it to its rightful owner, you sob, cradling it gently in your hands as you mourn the loss of your precious treasure. You wanted your pretty wrapper, but it wouldn’t be fair if the candy you stole from him was so much better than yours.

"Tell me what's happening, Sans. So help me I'll-" Ashley's voice carries traces of panic as she hears you crying in the background. 

"Uh… Debs turned your dining room table into a giant pink tower of pudding and is crying while holding on to an empty candy wrapper." Sans tries his best to not sound like an idiot.

"What the- oh. Is she drunk again?" She calms down and amusement colours her voice. 

"Again? What the f- But she said she never got drunk before." 

"Oh, well that's because she didn’t remember and I never let her drink again."

"Ugh. Of course. She knocked back a whole shot of monster alcohol." Sans rubs a skeletal hand along the back of his skull in frustration, completely unsure of what to do in this situation.

"Tsk- that lightweight." Ashley clicks her tongue. "Look, I'm caught up at work right now, and I probably won't be back tonight. She'll be fine after a while, she ends up a sleepy drunk. ish. I'm sure she'll explain everything once she's sober. Okay, gotta go, bye! Call me if there's any emergency." Ashley hangs up the phone and Sans stares blankly at you.

His phone vibrates.

-

**Ashley**

Good luck! 

-

He takes a deep breath and walks over to you while you're mumbling something incoherent about your hatred for Mr Krabs. 

Sans contemplates for a moment before deciding it's best for you to sleep it off. "Comeon Debs, you should go to bed."

"Nooooooooo. You haven't eaten the strawberry puddingggg." You pout and point to your magnificent strawberry tower. "Made it pretty for you." You fiddle with your fingers, "Did I do good?" 

Sans notices that you've unfolded the sparkly candy wrapper and stuck it on the surface of the pudding. Sans gives an exasperated sigh as he squats down beside you and smooths your hair, "Yeah, kid. You did real good." 

Sans stands to pluck the candy wrapper off the top of the pudding tower and hands it back to you. "Here, keep it safe." He chuckles. 

"Really pretty?" You take the wrapper from him as you look up at him with wide eyes. Your face is flushed from the alcohol as you tilt your head to the side and look expectantly at him. You want him to praise your pudding tower! Then you’ll know he likes it.

"Yeah, you really are." He says as wipes a tear from your cheek.

-

You eventually fall asleep on the sofa as Sans sits on the floor and leans against it. 

You had tried so hard to show him as much of yourself as you could. You hadn't said it, but he'd have to be an idiot not to know why you did. Afterall, he'd always been more sensitive to souls and intent.

You were honest and caring to a fault. 

He could see how much it hurt and frightened you each time you revealed a part of yourself to him, how vulnerable those moments made you feel.

He knew how hard it was for you, but you'd force a smile anyway because you didn't want to make it uncomfortable for him. **Him** , when it was you who needed protection. You were the one baring your soul. 

He could only guess what it cost you to put yourself out there. Your dark, personal secrets on display, at the mercy of someone else to judge. To choose to accept or tear apart. 

Why? Why did you give him that power?

He knew that power clearly. He'd had it in the underground. He'd had it not by choice.

Not by his, and clearly not by the ones that he'd judged.

Why? Why did you choose to **let** him judge you? 

He couldn't understand.

You let him do it, and you'd never once tried to make him do the same. You didn't have to wait for his sob story as a mutual exchange for yours. 

You were so full of love and kindness that you didn't wait to see if he was worthy of you. Instead, you opened yourself up unconditionally to let him see and decide if **you** were worthy of **him**.

And then, even though you gave so freely to him, it took the fear of losing you to make him realise how much he wanted you in his life. How much he fucking **needed** you. How much he actually cared.

As he sits there in the dark, he recalls the incident back at the university. 

Back then, he saw that guy flirting with you and he'd flared with jealousy. He was growling before he even knew it. 

He had assumed that you must have been flirting back, and his magic had raced through his core, filling it with sorrow. A physical dull ache had spread through his chest when he thought about how your smile, laughs and crazy antics might one day no longer be for him, but for somebody else. 

And when the guy lifted Kiwi off your shoulder and placed his hand on your waist, he saw you physically recoil, and his hurt was replaced with unadulterated rage. How dare he hurt you? 

Immediately, he had teleported kiwi back to your shoulder and placed himself in between you and the offender. It was a kid, just a kid. But Sans felt so possessive, and he was sure that if he had a second longer with the kid, he would have flung him at least halfway across the campus, far away from you. It was irrational, but it felt so justified.

He had to take a moment to compose himself before he could turn around to face you. Even then, he had to take more time to force the rage down before he could speak. He squished your face because he had to touch you, then you were so soft that he forgot to stop. 

Sans chuckles as he recalls how you actually dared to eat a piece of strawberry candy from his trash tornado. Not only that, but you'd turned the dining table in your living room into a strawberry flavoured pudding tower to make up for it. 

Sighing softly, Sans knows that your relationship is at the point where he either holds you close, or lets you go completely. The decision should be simple, but every part of his being tells him that he doesn't deserve you. 

He has baggage. Lots of it. Stars, he was a murderer in some timelines, and nothing but a useless sack of shit in others. He had watched as Frisk murdered Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, common monster citizens, everyone. Over, and over… and over. He couldn't remember everything at first, but in time he remembered it all. There were timelines in which he didn't even do anything unless the whole town was practically dusted and barely anyone was left but him and Asgore. 

How dare he try to protect you, when he couldn’t protect anybody else?

He hated himself, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was afraid you would feel the same if you knew.

Sifting through his myriad of emotions, he comes to the painful realisation that he loves you. 

As kiwi hops off your shoulder to the floor, you shuffle a little on the sofa, mumbling in your sleep, "I love you too."

  
  
  
  



	9. Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of first arc (':

Ashley comes home at 7 in the morning.

She sees you on the sofa, still fast asleep.

Sans is in one of the single seaters, eyelights off, but he’s cupped one of his hands over the other, elbows rested on his knees. He’s staring at the tower of pink pudding.

“Well you look like shit.” Ashley grins as she greets Sans. She notes with gratitude that Sans actually stayed the night to take care of you.

Sans’ eyelights flicker back on and turns to look at Ashley. “Thanks.” 

Ashley hangs up her coat and walks over to the living room to take a seat on the other single seater across Sans. She takes a look at what used to be her dining table and sighs, “Well, I’m surprised she didn’t turn it into a statue of Mr Krabs this time.”

He takes a deep breath before he can ask. By this point, Sans has accepted that he will never understand you. But he still has to try.

“... Why Mr Krabs?”

“The last time she was drunk, she tripped over it and got mad, so she wanted to turn it into something she hated as its punishment. Then she saw it and got even madder.” Ashley chuckles. “She hates Mr Krabs. Says that all he ever cares about is money.” Ashley smiles sadly as she turns to look at you, “And that he always takes advantage of the well-meaning Spongebob who only ever tries his best.”

As Sans turns to you, Ashley studies him, and notices that the way he looks at you has changed. There is a tenderness to his gaze, as if he’s looking at the single most precious thing in the world.

“So you’ve stopped denying it?” Ashley asks.

Sans turns back to her in surprise. He regards her silently for a moment before he answers.

“Yeah I… have.” Wow, Sans feels so eloquent at this moment. All his doctorates were really doing him a solid. 

“But you haven’t decided.” Ashley states it as a fact, not a question.

“I just.. I don’t deserve her. She can do better than me. She should do better than me.” Sans’ voice is low and strained. He’s frustrated.

“Then will you let her leave you and love somebody else? She’d get married, start a family, and tell him all of her secrets.” 

A low growl slips out of San’s non-existent throat before he can help it and he feels that dull ache again. “... No.”

“Then become a better man… skeleton. She’s trying hard for you, and if you love her then you owe it to her to do the same.” Ashley walks over to you and gives you a kiss on your forehead.

“I only came home to grab some things. Will you be able to stay until she wakes up?”

Sans nods, “Yeah, I don’t have any classes today.” 

She hums. “Good. Make sure she turns my table back. I like that one.”

Ashley heads up the stairs to her room, then leaves the house with a wave goodbye.

-

You give yourself a real good stretch and a loud yawn. You notice that you’re not lying down on your bed, but the ceiling is still rather familiar. You must have passed out on the sofa yesterday. Wait, what did you do yesterday? You can’t remember. You turn on your side and notice a pink tower of what appears to be… pudding? You’d have to taste it to know specifically what kind. Meh, you’d think about it later. You close your eyes to settle back to sleep.

“You’re really just going to go back to sleep?” 

Sans’ voice wakes you up and your eyes dart to where he’s sitting. Oh my god, what was he doing here? Think brain, think! What did you do yesterday! You went for dinner, then… you were supposed to tell him more about your tragic backstory. Why don’t you remember telling him your tragic backstory?

“You know, when you say you’ve never gotten drunk before, it’s not supposed to be because you just don’t drink alcohol in general.” Sans looks at you with a lopsided grin.

“Heh heh.” You laugh sheepishly, “I just thought that sounded cool.” Oops, did you get drunk? That explains the pink pudding tower.

You fiddle with the jacket you have in your hands. It’s Sans’ jacket? Awww the cutie must have draped it over you while you were sleeping. It was so fluffy now that it wasn’t wet. You play with the fur on the hood. 

“Hey, hello? Earth to Debs.” Sans waves his hands.

“Huh?” You look up. You must have missed what he said.

“Ashley wants her table back. Could you, please?” Sans points to the pink tower. 

“Oh, okay yeah.” You stand up and walk over to the tower, summoning your magic and willing it to turn back to its original state. 

“So how does that work?” Sans asks.

You plop back down on the sofa, “Uhmmm…. I’m not that sure how it works, but essentially I form a mental image and determine its state and property. Like, solid, liquid or gas and how malleable it’s supposed to be or its function or whatever. Then, the item that it turns to has to be of similar mass, volume or size. Maybe it has to do with molecules or something, but like, my dining table for example? No matter what I turn it into, I only have that amount of material to work with. If I wanted a big pudding, I’d use the whole table. If I wanted a small one, I’d probably break a leg off the table and use that as the base material instead. I can’t turn it into a living thing, though. But maybe that’s just because I don't understand enough about bodily functions and how cells sustain life.”

Curiosity mildly satisfied, Sans nods.

“Maybe I can help you with that, sometime. We could experiment.” 

Your eyes light up at the thought. Before meeting the monsters, nobody else could do magic. That left you all alone in your experimentations and you had to figure everything out through countless trials and errors. It was so nice to know that you were not a freak, and that magic was now a thing that a whole lot of other people had. 

As you nod your head happily, Sans comes to sit beside you.

He places a hand on your forehead, “How do you feel?” 

“I’m okay, just a little dazed.” You try in vain to fight a blush as he takes his hand away, “How come I don’t have a hangover?”

“There’s no ethanol in monster drinks. That’s what causes a hangover.”

“What! That’s so cool!” You sulk because you can’t remember how great it was. And then, you remember that you never got around to talking to him about what happened at the mall.

Sans senses your current shift in mood.

“Hey Kid, do you wanna see the underground?”

You immediately turn to face him, “Like, where all the monsters lived?” 

“Yeah, I’m free today if you are.” Sans shrugs.

“Okay give me like, fifteen minutes!” You pounce up and off the sofa to get changed, bathed and ready for your adventure.

-

Fifteen minutes later, you’re out of the shower with your partially dried hair. You smell very strongly of strawberries.

“What’s up with you and strawberries?” Sans quirks up a brow bone and asks.

Feeling oddly embarrassed that he can smell your shampoo, you giggle, “I really like strawberries?” 

Sans chuckles in reply. 

“Ready to go?”

“You bet I am!” You say while skipping over to him.

Sans places a hand on your shoulder as you hold on tight to Kiwi to make sure she doesn’t fall off.

-

You land on a cluster of golden flowers. It’s darkness all around you. 

Sans offers his hand to you, and he leads you through the ruins. There were so many puzzles! It was a pity that they were all already deactivated.

Eventually, you walk past a huge tree and end up at a house.

“This was toriel’s house.” He pauses and seems to be lost in a certain memory. 

Going inside the now-abandoned house, you take a quick look around before heading down the stairs to what Sans tells you is the exit of the ruins. 

Before he pushes the door open, he takes off his jacket and hands it to you. “You’re gonna need this.”

Stepping past the door, you’re floored at how the weather can change so abruptly. How does it even snow underground?? You walk until you reach a sentry station.

“This is where I used to work.” He says.

“You were a Sentry?” You ask without even bothering to mask your disbelief. You run over to his sentry station to see ketchup and mustard bottles littered all over the ground. Amused yet not surprised, you throw a pointed look in his direction.

“What? I got hungry.”

You pass a few more disarmed puzzles as Sans explains how Papyrus made them and how they work. He always has that gentle twinkle in his eye when he talks about Papyrus. You loved it when he got this way.

Eventually, you stop at an unusually empty plot of land.

“Was something supposed to be here? Some kinda puzzle that just isn’t around anymore?” 

Sans laughs, “Uh, no? It’s right there.” He points to a piece of paper on the ground.

You walk over to it and pick it up. “A crossword puzzle?” You roll your eyes, “I’m guessing you were in charge of this one.”

“Lucky guess.”

After walking past a plate of spaghetti, which you accurately guess belongs to papyrus, and many many other puzzles, you eventually cross a long wooden bridge that leads you into town.

“Welcome to Snowdin town.” Sans takes a deep breath. “Asgore sucks at naming.”

You walk past the old Grillby’s and a place called the ‘Librarby.”

“This is where me and Paps lived.” 

You look over to where he’s pointing and you see a big house with two mailboxes to the side.

“Gee, I wonder which mailbox is yours, Sans.” You pass it with a giggle.

“Wait here.” Sans tells you to wait inside, as he heads to the back of his house. You take a seat on his green sofa as you look around. It’s pretty empty, save for the side tables and the tv. As you walk into the kitchen, the lights turn on.

“Managed to get the backup generator running.” Sans grins as he pops into the kitchen, “Lucky us, eh?”

“Why’s your sink so tall??” You point to the impractically raised sink with incredulity.

“Paps wanted to fit more bones under it.” Sans says with a shrug. “Wanna see my room?”

Entering his room, it’s a lot neater than you expect it to be.

There’s a treadmill in the centre of his room, although it’s clear he’s never used it, and there are actually clean sheets on his bed. There’s also a familiar trash tornado in the corner of his room. 

You turn to him with amusement.

“What? It’s self sustaining.” He earns himself a dramatic eye roll.

“I didn’t expect it to be so clean.” You say as you go to lean on his bed, bouncing up and down to test its quality.

“Yeah, well Paps came and cleaned it up before we moved to the surface. Said something about how he couldn’t imagine it being dirty forever.” Sans moves to lean on his bed.

Everything makes sense now, as you nod to yourself in understanding. There was no way his room could even be remotely close to being like this while he was living in it, if his office was any indication.

You want to say something, but for some reason it feels like you should be silent. Like Sans needs a moment for himself. 

It’s a comfortable silence, and you continue to observe the room you’re in. This was where Sans spent all his life before the surface. You were grateful that he had thought to share it with you.

After a moment or two, Sans turns to look at you. You watch him silently and wait for him to speak.

“I’m not a good guy. Not by any means. And I have so many secrets, burdens, shames.” Sans looks down. “I’m flawed and I’m broken and I don’t know how not to be. I’m a coward so scared of things that never happened, that every other night I wake up screaming because of all the nightmares.” Sans grips the sheets with both hands, not sure how he can continue.

You don’t rush him, you don’t touch him. You give him the space to say all that he needs to, at his own pace.

“...I don’t know what you see in me that makes you think that there’s something good in me, but I want to try. I want to try to be good enough for you. I know just trying isn’t good enough but if you think that’s okay, then I-”

You decide that that’s a good place to stop him, so you wrap your arms around him in a hug.

“Silly, Sans. You’re already good enough. I love you for who you are, not who you think I want you to be. You don’t have to do anything to earn my love.”

You release your hug but cup his face in your hands and gently turn him to look at you, “It’s okay to want to be better, but it doesn’t need to come from a place of self hate. It can come from a place of self love. You should love yourself so much that you just want to be the best person you can be. And until you can do that for yourself, I’ll do that for you.” 

You cradle your favourite sobbing skeleton to your chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who joined me for the first arc!  
> I hope this lived up somewhat to your expectations and that you're as excited for the rest of the story as I am.
> 
> I don't know what the schedule of releases will be with the next arc, I'll let you know once I decide!  
> Let me know how you found this chapter, so I can keep improving. 
> 
> Ps. I read every comment and show it happily to my fiance. It fills me with detemmienation to write moarr!!


	10. Kiss Kiss Fall In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't we all need some fluff?

You hug Sans for such a long time that you fall asleep.

Sans also ends up taking a nap with his head on your lap, but he wakes up before you do.

Which is why when you open your eyes, the first thing you see is a smiling skeleton.

You blink in confusion.

"I thought you were going to drool on me." Sans snickers from below.

Your face immediately turns a bright red. "S-sorry!" You whip your head back up and stammer, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. 

"I'm just kidding." He says as he sits back up and brushes your cheek with the back of his fingers. 

His fingertips feel cool on your skin as you turn to look at him.

"Hey Sans, what are we now?" 

You'd had a heart to heart conversation, but it didn't really have a conclusion and you needed to be sure. 

"A human and a skeleton?" He grins as you roll your eyes with a pout. 

"Well," He takes with a lock of your strawberry-scented hair and winds it around his finger, "I love you _berry_ much." 

"You're such a bone head." You fiddle with your fingers as you blush, "I love you too." 

You stare at the floor as you ask, "Does that mean you're my boyfriend?" 

"I'd say I'm your snowflake, cos I fell for you." Sans wiggles his brow bones.

"Eew lame." You try to pout to fight the smile. It ends up as a wacky grin.

"Your photographer because I can picture us together?" 

"Try again." 

"A drunkard… Because you intoxicate me?" 

"Not even close." 

"You're right, you're the drunkard." Sans teases.

"Hey!" You finally turn to look at him.

He pulls you into a hug, "Yeah, I'm your boyfriend." 

He thinks you can't see his brilliant blush, but he's lighting up the room in your favourite colour.

-

This time before Sans teleports the both of you back, he wraps you in a hug. 

As you teleport back into your living room, Ashley sees you from the kitchen. 

Embarrassed, you try to push Sans away from you, but he holds on tight.

"Hey Ashley, took your advice." Sans grins at her. 

You look from Ashley to Sans, and back to Ashley in confusion. 

"You'd better." She walks into the living room and Sans lets you go. 

"I'm happy for you." She says as she pulls you into a long hug. You know she's probably mouthing something behind your back to Sans because he replies, "I promise." 

She's still holding on to you when your stomach growls.

"Want me to cook something?" Ashley asks. 

"Actually, my car is still over at the university. Sans and I were thinking of eating there and picking it up. Do you wanna join us?" You turn to Sans, "Can you teleport the both of us?" 

"Sure." Sans shrugs. 

Ashley wants to leave you two to your date, so she casually declines. 

"No need, I-" 

"Come on Ash, it'll be fun!" She's your bestie, so there's no way you don't know what's going through her mind. She's always so thoughtful on your behalf, but you want her to know that nothing changes just because Sans is your boyfriend now. Ashley will always be a super important part of your life.

Ashley relents with a smile. "Alright, then!" 

Sans places an arm around your waist and a hand on Ashley's shoulder as he teleports to the university. 

He has to grab her arm upon landing to steady her before she turns to retch at the side of the path. 

"I thought you said it would be fun." She groans as she places her hands on her knees while catching her breath. 

"You'll get used to it." Sans says as you pat her back.

"You didn't think to mention this side effect?" She glares at him accusatorily.

He rubs a hand on the back of his head sheepishly, "Wasn’t that sure you’d get it. Deb’s didn’t." 

"Great." 

"Come on guys, I'm hungry! Let's go eat!" You run ahead of them and they have to turn away from each other and follow after you.

As you're having your food in the staff canteen, you feel a familiar sting on your back.

"Heya, nerd!" Undyne slaps you on the back as she walks past you. "When are we up for anime night?! We're waiting on you to start the Ouran High School Host Club marathon! There are only 26 episodes in that one! We'll clear it in one night."

Ah, Ouran. It brought back such fond memories as the first vanilla peek into the world of Fujoshis. Not that it ever became your thing. The real BL type was a little too extreme for you.

"I'm free this Friday!" You offer. "Oh and this is my best friend Ashley! Ash, meet Undyne." 

Undyne gives Ashley the once over with her good eye, and she returns the levelled stare. Oof it must be some alpha female dominance thing. 

After a moment, Undyne grins a toothy grin, revealing all her sharp teeth. "I like the spunk on your friend, kid! She should come to anime night too!" 

"I'd love to be there." Ashley replies politely.

"Great! See ya, nerds!" 

She leaves just as suddenly as she came.

"Isn't Undyne great!" You turn to Ashley and ask.

"Of course she is." She smiles. 

-

After you're all done eating, you ask Sans to teleport you, Ashley and the car back to your place but Ashley isn't willing to get teleported again.

"I just got attached to my food, I'm not willing to lose it." 

"But my car can only take 2 people." 

"S'fine. I'll teleport back." Sans is just grateful he doesn't have to ride in your car. 

Sans walks you both to your car. As Ashley goes into the passenger seat, you turn to look at him.

"I'll text you then?" You look a little bit sad that you didn't get as much time with him as you wanted. 

"Sounds great, kid." Sans ruffles your hair.

You hesitate for a moment, but decide to just go for it.

'Bye, love you!" You quickly tiptoe and give him a kiss on his cheek. You blush furiously and run to the driver's side, planning to drive away ASAP.

Suddenly, before you can open your car door, you're teleported back in front of Sans. He puts both arms over you as he leans in.

"Love you too." He whispers into your ear as he nuzzles your cheek and teleports you back to the car.

As you turn to gape at him, he winks at you and teleports away.

Ashley laughs at your flustered but clearly euphoric expression as she hopes she can trust him to take care of you.


	11. I will still be here, stargazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for their first date!

The drive home was an unnerving one. Especially for Ashley. With how distracted you were, she momentarily regretted her decision not to take Sans up on the offer to teleport. 

By the time you reach home, she almost kisses the ground, thankful that she made it home in one piece.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad!" You pout in mock anger.

Ashley goes to unlock the door, "Debs I love you, but that was terrible driving." 

You stick your tongue out at her. 

You're about to follow her inside when you suddenly have a flash of inspiration.

"Go ahead without me, Ash! I just thought of something I wanna do!" 

"Okay! Have fun!" Ash figures that something probably has to do with Sans.

You whip out your phone and text Papyrus.

-

**Debs**

Hey Papyrus! Is Sans with you? 

**Papyrus**

Hello, Human debs! No, I think he's in his room! Do you need me to go get him? 0A0;

**Debs**

No no I just want to ask you something!

**Papyrus**

Okay! What is it, humans Debs? You can rely on the Great Papyrus! /Hero.cape-2.gif/

**Debs**

Thanks Paps! I want to bring Sans on a secret date. Do you know what he likes? Besides ketchup of course.

**Papyrus**

A secret! You can trust me to keep a secret! (^A^)7

Sans has a telescope, maybe you could do something with stars? 

**Debs**

Thanks Paps! You're the best! 

Could you text me your address too please?

**Papyrus**

Of course I am! /King.Spaghetti.monster.jpeg/

It's... xxxxxxxx

-

You hop on your motorbike and ride to the closest supermarket. 

You pick up picnic mats, blankets, ketchup and snacks.

Then, you drive down to Grillby's and take out burgers and fries. You think about it, but still decide to pick up a bottle of monster alcohol anyway. For sans. And maybe you could share. 

You reach Sans’ house and get Papyrus to let you in. 

Standing outside Sans' door, you shout

"Knock knock!"

Sans immediately opens the door and he has the widest most ecstatic grin you've ever seen on him. However, this progression of events is not acceptable for you. 

"What are-" You reach in and close the door, cutting him off.

"Knock knock!" You try again. 

There's silence for a second and you can hear his laughter before he replies, "Who's there?"

"Honeydew!"

"Honeydew who?"

"Honeydew you want to go and see the stars with me?"

Sans swings the door back open, "What? Really?" His eyes are practically sparkling with excitement.

"Yeah! Papyrus told me you have a telescope!"

You hear a NYEH-HEH-HEH in the background. You make a mental note to thank papyrus properly sometime soon.

You giggle. "But we have to take my bike because the location is a surprise." 

Sans' grin falters. After a moment's thought, he takes out his phone and calls Ashley. He could at least get some form of assurance that he will survive the date.

"Hey, Ashley. You ever ride on Debs' bike?"

"... She's taking you on her bike?" 

"Uh… yeah." 

"HA! Good luck, bone boy." Ashley ends the call. 

He lowers his phone and looks at you. 

You raise your eyebrows and grin at him. You won’t let him say no.

"Don't you love teleportation?" Sans tries to bargain. 

Tempting, but no dice. You take a step into his arms and look up with a pout. "Don't you love me?" You blink a little and wrap your arms around his waist. That should work right? It always did in shoujo anime! 

What you did not expect was that it would be a 1 hit K-O. Debs' kawaii attack was super effective! 

Sans blushes a brilliant shade of blue and lights up the entire room. 

"Fine." He relents as he hugs you back. "But if I die, I'll haunt you forever."

"Deal! Now go grab your telescope." 

You pack his telescope into your tank bag as you hand him his helmet. 

"Ready?" You turn to him with the biggest grin ever.

His expression makes you laugh.

-

To your credit, you did try your best to ride as safely as possible at first, but your old instincts kicked in and before you knew it, you were racing at breakneck speeds, winding in and out of traffic like a madman. You were probably laughing like one too.

You eventually head out of the populated city area and onto a dirt path. By the time you reach your destination, Sans' grip on the seat is so tight it's practically welded on. You notice that his eyelights have disappeared again. 

"I heard the Leonids is happening tonight." You say, wiggling your eyebrows.

His eyelights immediately flicker back on as he whips his head to you, "The meteor shower? It's expected to happen tonight?" 

You giggle at how effective that was. "Yeah. It was predicted to happen yesterday or today, and I heard it hasn't happened yet." 

He immediately hops off your bike and grabs his telescope, teleporting to various locations on the mountain to try and find the best spot. You've just finished packing all the food and things into your bag when Sans teleports to you and tells you that he's found the perfect location. 

He teleports the both of you to this place on the mountain where it's completely dark, save for his lightly dusted cheeks that are flushed with excitement. As he fiddles with his telescope, you set up the picnic mat with the help of your handphone torchlight. 

You settle down comfortably and ask him what he’s doing. 

“Meteors in annual showers are named for the point in our sky from which they appear to radiate. So, this shower is named for the constellation Leo the Lion, because these meteors radiate outward from the vicinity of stars representing the Lion’s Mane. I’m just looking for that.” 

You have no idea what he’s saying, but he’s so animated about it that it warms your heart anyway.

“So what are we looking for? Exactly? Sorry, I honestly have no idea what it is. I just googled something about star gazing and this popped up.” You admit sheepishly.

Sans doesn’t mind. Instead, he settles down beside you and is more than excited to explain.

“So, the Leonid meteors are bright, colorful, and some of the fastest meteors out there. They’re white or bluish white, and can be faint or appear outstandingly bright and leave glowing trains in their wake. They’re best visible after midnight, and it's possible to actually see one meteor a minute during its peak. Although it happens every year, there’s actually a peak for the Leonid Storm. This happens every 33 years, and from what I remember, this should be it. You don’t really need a telescope for it because it's actually better to see the whole sky with the naked eye, but we can still use it to see the stars till then.” Sans grins at you, “Afterall, we still have a few hours to midnight. Then, we can watch it till dawn, which is when it's **really** the best.” 

You giggle at how child-like he is. You also wonder how damn smart he is that he knows all this information like the back of his hand. You've never seen this side of him before, and you absolutely love it. You're so thankful that Papyrus gave you the idea to see the stars. And if you actually managed to catch the 33 year peak of the Leonids, it seems that the _stars_ have really aligned. 

When you don't say anything, he seems to think that you don’t want to. He suddenly notices that he's been rambling and didn't actually ask you how long you actually planned this date to be. He backpedals, "Uh... I mean… we don't have to stay the whole night. But uh, I-" 

You lean on his shoulder and turn to kiss him on the cheek, "Don’t be silly, Sans, I would love to spend the night with you." 

His cheeks dust your favourite blue and the atmosphere turns a little enigmatic, egged on by your suggestive words. 

He traces a finger along your jawline and cups your cheek as you lean into it, smiling at him. 

“Can I?” His voice is low and huskier than you remember. 

“Mmhmm.” You close your eyes.

He leans in and taps his teeth on your lips gently. Then he slides his teeth sideways, nuzzling your cheek before moving slowly down to the side of your neck and back up again. 

You moan softly as your hands sneak under his jacket and your fingers lightly trace the bottom of his ribs through his shirt. 

He trembles a little under your touch and pulls away, still completely enthralled by you.

“Hey, Sans.” Your voice is barely a whisper.

“Yes, love?” 

You pull him back into a hug, rubbing your face meekly into his chest. “I love you.”

He runs his fingers through your hair and nuzzles the top of your head. “I love you too.”

You stay like that for a moment before you pull away from him.

“The night gets better, you know.” You grin.

“There’s more?” He raises his brow bones and says with mock seriousness. “Sorry Love, but I actually doubt that it can."

You take out the burgers and fries you bought from Grillby’s, which earns you a cheer, and then you pull out the ketchup bottle with a ‘Tadah!’

You have the pleasure of watching him chuckle and say, “Okay, I was wrong. It got better.”

Giggling, you reach into the bag and take out the bottle of monster alcohol for yourself.

Sans’ smile immediately turns to panic as he snatches the alcohol away from you.

“No way. Not a chance. Over my done and dusted body am I ever letting you drink again.”

“Pleeeeeease? I’ll only take a few sips. You can have the rest!” You pout.

“No way! You’re dangerous enough without it!” 

You pretend to gasp and see something in the sky behind him, tackling him for the bottle in the short second he turns to look. 

“Hey!” 

You knock him over and snatch the bottle out of his hand. Somehow, like all shoujo animes should go, you end up lying on top of him... Although it's usually the guy who's on top.

As Sans blushes again, you feel so lucky that yours doesn't shine like a nightlight.

Giggling, you roll off and lie down beside him, sporting your own secret blush.

You look up at the beautiful night sky, stars shining brilliantly against the darkness that’s still tinted with your favourite baby blue.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to write a little bit of touchy touchy, let me know if that's what you're into or if it sounds awkward.  
> I still don't think I'll write smut though.... hmm....


	12. Water is powerfully wet stuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pet names and anime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: mild alcohol use

You lie beside each other under the blanket of stars, fingers intertwined as you look out for the flash of meteors. 

Sans was right, this year was the 33 year peak of the Leonids, and they were breathtaking against the dark sky. 

When the sun rises, Sans turns to you and pulls you into a hug, "Thank you." He whispers.

You reach up to stroke his face, "Anytime, Snowflake." You tease.

He pulls away slightly, raising a brow bone, "Snowflake?"

"Yeah, yesterday you said that you were my snowflake." You giggle, prodding him gently in the ribs.

He lets out a high pitched laugh, "Hey!" 

"What, are you ticklish?" Your eyes shine with a playful glint.

Unwilling to participate in this battle, Sans grabs both of your hands and nuzzles your forehead. "Snowflake sounds lame, can't I have a cooler pet name?" 

You giggle as you flush. Kiwi's sleeping away from you in the corner of your picnic mat, so you can feel Sans' love for you flowing gently around your soul. 

"Like what?" 

"I don't know, uh…"

"I know! Ketchup!" You say animatedly.

"Why ketchup?" 

"Because you love ketchup!" You say matter of factly.

"Shouldn't I be called something that **you** love?" 

"Hmm… I love… pudding?" You can't think of anything else because endorphins are flooding your system. 

He chuckles as he hugs you again, "Okay fine, I'll accept Ketchup." 

You both settle back into a comfortable silence and Sans almost falls asleep.

"Hey, Pudding?" 

"Wha- I thought we decided on Ketchup?" 

"No I changed my mind." You giggle.

He sighs. He shouldn't have contested Ketchup.

"Hey, Pudding?" You try again.

"Yes, Love?" 

"I love you." You whisper.

"I love you, too." He whispers back.

"We gotta go, you know?" 

"Ngh… five more minutes." He grumbles into your neck.

"Don't you have class in like, an hour?" 

This makes him sit up. "Shit!" 

You both pack your things and throw them all into your backpack as you put Kiwi back on your shoulder. Sans teleports you both back to your motorbike. 

Because of the lack of time, you travel home by teleportation.

"Awww we didn't get to ride my bike back." You pout as he walks you to the door.

"Lucky me, I guess." He chuckles.

You swat him playfully on the arm. 

"Good luck at work!" You say as you give him a kiss on the cheek.

He returns it with a nuzzle as he teleports away. 

You go into your room, deciding to take a 2 hour nap before opening up shop for the day.

As you lie down, you think of Sans and smile as you drift to sleep.

-

It's Friday today and you're ready for anime night! 

You and Ashley arrive together at Alphys and Undyne's place.

"We brought chips and drinks!" You say, lifting up your plastic bags of assorted snacks. 

"C-come in!" Alphys opens the door and waves you both in. "W-we're just waiting f-for Sans." 

"What about Papyrus?" You ask, stepping into the living room.

"IF I WAITED FOR THAT LAZYBONES, I WOULD MISS HALF THE SEASON OF OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB." Papyrus calls from the living room. 

"Ouch Paps, you wound me." Sans walks in behind you. 

"Sans!" You greet him happily.

"Hey, love." He greets you as he touches the small of your back. 

"Oh- oh my god." Alphys calls out as she runs to the kitchen to tell Undyne how happy she is that her ship has sailed. 

Giggling, you both settle down comfortably on the sofa. Undyne walks in, "Took ya long enough, nerds! Alphys has been shipping y'all forever!" She settles down into a single seater beside you, "Can't believe you got that pile of lazybones to do something! Did you know he actually fell asleep at his sentry station underground when I was trying to capture Frisk? Frisk went right past him and he didn't do jackshit!" 

You laugh, "I'm not surprised. Why were you trying to capture Frisk?"

"They were an outlaw." Sans replies, "It's a long story. I can tell you next time." He offers, not ready to go into that yet. 

Everyone settles into the living room, ready for the first episode to start. You, Sans and Ashley are on the sofa while Papyrus is in a bean bag chair beside Ashley. Alphys and Undyne are snuggling in the single seater.

When the opening song starts, you and Alphys belt it out. Papyrus tries to join in but he only knows the English words, which is still enough to start the song and join in at parts of the chorus. 

-

By the time you finish the 26 episodes, it's 430am in the morning.

"I honestly still think that Kyouya should’ve been gay for Tamaki." You say, "I don't understand why the canon makes him fall for Haruhi. She can’t be everyone’s type!"

"T-thats because Hikaru and K-Kaoru are enough to fill the roles for b-boys love. A-and it's a reverse harem c-concept. They all have to fall f-for Haruhi." Alphys is more than willing to engage in weeb speak with you.

"Okay but-"

"Alright, that's enough, nerds!" Undyne brings out the alcohol, "it's time for truth or dare!" 

Sans and Ashley exchange panicked glances as Ashley cries out, 'No alcohol!" 

"Come on!" You protest. 

You all end up playing 'I have never' instead, because Sans and Ashley vehemently protested against you doing any sort of dares with alcohol involved. 

A few rounds go by and you're running out of questions to ask.

"I have never… lived underground." You’re obviously grasping at straws. 

Sans, Alphys, Undyne and Papyrus take a shot. 

"I have never kissed a skeleton." Undyne smirks.

"Hey! No fair!" You pout as you take a sip. 

You alone were banned from taking a whole shot of monster alcohol at once, much to Undyne's displeasure. She relented when Sans assured her than if you took a whole shot, the game would immediately end.

"Well I have never kissed a dinosaur." Sans takes revenge on your behalf and you give him a high five. 

Undyne takes a shot, "Okay this is lame, no more targeted I-have-nevers!"

"Awwwww." Alphys pouts. This was a good opportunity for her to find out more about your relationship with Sans.

"O-okay then, I have never… almost d-died riding any sort of v-vehicle." Alphys says.

Sans and Ashley immediately take a shot as you smile sheepishly. Undyne also takes a shot.

"What's the story with that?" You ask.

"I was tryna catch a punk who ran away after robbing a store. As I drove after him, he had a partner on a motorbike who splashed paint over my windshield. I almost crashed into the side of the road because I couldn't see the turn." Oh yeah, you remember that Undyne was with the police force. "I got out of the car, though, and CAUGHT THE PUNK BY CHASING AFTER HIM ON FOOT! And his partner too! FUHUHUHUHU!" Damn, Undyne was still so cool.

"W-what are your stories?" Alphys turns to Sans and Ashley.

"They're similar, actually. We've both stared death in the face because Debs took us somewhere on her bike or car." Ashley says, "She drives and rides like a racer because she actually was one when she was younger." 

"What?!" Sans turns to you incredulously.

You stick your tongue out sheepishly, "I was a little rebellious in my teenage years." 

"She literally joined a gang. Like, the biggest gang in the country. You should see her old wardrobe. It's a fashion disaster." Ashley points out. 

"Hey, I quit!" You try to defend yourself.

"Yeah, and the only reason they let you out without beating you up was because the gang leader had a super mega crush on you." 

"AND I threatened to turn our base into literal rat food!" You say, turning to Sans, "He only had a LITTLE crush." 

"Yeah, he only sent you flowers every god damn day."

"UGH." You groan, desperate to change the subject as Alphys and Undyne watch your bickering with interest, "It's Papyrus' turn!"

"WELL, I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN TO FEED MY PET ROCK. OR PICK UP MY SOCKS." Papyrus says. 

"Oh no, not this again" Sans groans as he takes another shot. He's starting to feel the buzz. 

"Paps, please." 

"WELL IF YOU HAD JUST PICKED UP YOUR DIRTY SOCKS FROM THE CORNER OF YOUR ROOM, OR AT LEAST THE LIVING ROOM, WE WOULDN'T BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION." Papyrus fumes.

"Who's next?" Sans asks, desperate to move the conversation along.

"No I need to hear this!" You cry out, "What's so wrong with socks?" 

"Socks are l-like underwear t-to skeletons." 

"Ooooooh." You wiggle your eyebrows at Sans, "Scaaaaaandalous. What colour were they?" 

"WELL OF COURSE THEY WERE-"

"Hey!" Sans cuts in.

"What? I just want to know your type." You giggle.

"Yeah! How else will she know how to _knock your socks_ _off_?!" Undyne adds in, and you give her a high five. 

Sans groans as he glows a light blue. 

"Well, what about the pet rock?" You ask.

"DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HIS PET ROCK." 

"Yeah, don't get him started on my pet rock." Sans groans as he knocks his head on the table. 

"HE ALWAYS FORGOT TO FEED HIS PET ROCK AND I HAD TO ASSUME THE RESPONSIBILITY."

"Rocky was overfed! You fed him too many sprinkles." 

"AS YOU FORGOT TO FEED HIM EVERY DAY, I HAD TO MAKE SURE HE WAS FED ENOUGH TO LAST HIM THROUGH THE TUMULTUOUS TIMES." 

"Obviously Paps was just being the responsible one." Ashley chips in.

"Yeah! He was just making it pretty!" You say, "I can make things pretty too!" You summon your magic and turn your empty shot glass into a pile of glitter as you toss it in the air, giggling with glee. 

"Oh my god, when did you drink all your alcohol??" Ashley groans, looking at the glitter disaster. 

"What the hell? Debs is a mage?!" Undyne cries out. "That's so fucking cool!" Undyne runs to the living room and grabs the sofa, throwing it down in front of you. "Change this too!"

"To what?"

"A pile of socks!" Undyne cackles.

"S-SCANDALOUS!" Papyrus's face blushes orange.

"H-how about into b-balloons?"

"NGAHHH!! That's lame! Transform it into gold bars! We'll be rich!" 

"W-we already are t-though." 

"... Even more rich!!!" 

You summon magic into your palm, willing the sofa to change into gold bars but only succeed in changing it into a translucent gold colored sofa-shaped water body. Obviously you weren't thinking properly.

"What the hell is that?!" Undyne shouts as she jumps up and into the sofa. "Alphys!! I'm SWIMMING IN OUR SOFA! Join me!" 

Excited, you try to run over to the sofa to join in the fun, but Sans pulls you back by looping an arm around your waist. "Oh no you don't." 

You whine, but your efforts are futile. He doesn't let you go anywhere and ignores your struggles completely.

“Noooooooooo.” You’re almost crying.

The house dissolves into chaos as the sun rises.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm posting every day, but that's not my typical schedule by any means heh heh.  
> The releases will probably slow down soon as I have to get my life back on track... kudos to my fiance who's been indulging me!  
> Our dates the past week have literally consisted me typing away on my phone while he tries to complete his pokedex on Pokemon Sword and Shield.


	13. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot happens.  
> Characters who are only happy all the time are one dimensional, don't you think?

You're one of the first to wake up and you wander to the kitchen area to see Papyrus already cleaning up.

"Hey Paps! Can I help?" You call cheerily, grateful for the lack of a hangover. 

"GOOD MORNING… AFTERNOON HUMAN DEBS!" Papyrus calls out in a stage whisper. "THANK YOU FOR YOUR OFFER, BUT THERE IS NO NEED. I AM ALMOST DONE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE, YOU COULD HELP ME TO PACK THE DRIED PLATES AND BOWLS AWAY." 

"Sure thing!" You walk up beside him and start to open up the various drawers, looking for the right place to put them. 

As you're packing them away, Papyrus taps your shoulder.

"HUMAN DEBS, IF YOU DO NOT MIND, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING." 

"What is it, Paps?" After putting the last of the bowls away, you turn to him and lean on the counter. 

"DO YOU LOVE MY BROTHER?" 

"Yes, of course I do!"

He nods, satisfied.

"MY BROTHER… HE IS NOT VERY GOOD AT EXPRESSING HIS EMOTIONS WITH WORDS." He sighs. "AND UNTIL RECENTLY, HIS EMOTIONS HAVE BEEN, TO PUT IT LIGHTLY, SAD. SOMETIMES HE DOES NOT SLEEP, AND SOMETIMES HE SLEEPS TOO MUCH. IT WAS NOT HEALTHY AND I WAS VERY WORRIED FOR HIM. BUT NO MATTER HOW I ASKED, HE WOULD NOT TELL ME. NO MATTER HOW MANY PLATES OF ENCOURAGEMENT PASTA I MADE HIM." 

You place a hand on Papyrus' hand, squeezing it lightly for support. 

He turns to look at you, "BUT! AFTER HE MET YOU, HE WAS A LITTLE HAPPIER. HE STARTED SLEEPING A LITTLE MORE AT NIGHTS AND ACTUALLY DID THINGS IN THE DAY. I ALSO NOTICED THAT EVER SINCE THE DAY OF FRISK'S BIRTHDAY PARTY, HE WOULD SOMETIMES WALK AROUND THE HOUSE, TEXTING WITH A HUGE SMILE ON HIS FACE. NOT EVEN THE FAKE ONE." 

You should be more surprised that Papyrus is actually more perceptive than he appears, but you're not. You could always sense that he knew a lot more than he was letting on. 

"MY GENIUS BRAIN HAS ALREADY FIGURED OUT THAT HE SMILES WHENEVER HE IS TEXTING YOU. I HAVE NEVER SEEN HIM HAPPIER IN HIS WHOLE LIFE THAN HE IS NOW."

Papyrus pauses to glance at Sans, who is sleeping soundly in the living room.

"HUMAN DEBS. SANS IS A BIG LAZYBONES, AND HE'S NOT VERY CLEAN." He shakes his head dramatically. "BUT HE IS ALSO A VERY CARING AND GENTLE BROTHER. ALTHOUGH I AM ALREADY AN ADULT, HE LIKES TO BABY ME. HE ACTUALLY THINKS THAT I AM NOT AWARE THAT HE CRIES AT NIGHT SOMETIMES. FROM WHAT I READ, HE SEEMS TO HAVE SOME FORM OF DEPRESSION." 

Papyrus looks a little hurt, but he just as quickly perks up again.

"I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF SANS, FOR HE IS MY PRECIOUS BROTHER. AS THE BROTHER OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HE DESERVES TO BE HAPPY. EVEN IF HE FORGETS TO PICK UP HIS SOCKS SOMETIMES. OR FEED HIS PET ROCK."

Papyrus turns to you with the most serious expression you've ever seen on him, and you can tell that he loves Sans so much. You do your best to assure him. 

"Don't worry, Paps, I promise to help him pick up all of his socks forever. I'll even help to feed Rocky." Your memory of yesterday is fuzzy but you remember some conversation about a pet rock and sock underwear.

You tiptoe to give him a hug.

"You're the best, Paps." You say that sentence on Sans' behalf, for he adores Papyrus so much that his feelings are throwing themselves at you from across the two rooms.

"THANK YOU, HUMAN DEBS. I AM INDEED VERY GREAT." Papyrus hugs you back. "BUT THAT LAZYBONES SHOULD LEARN TO PICK UP HIS OWN SOCKS."

Tossing a glance Sans' way, you notice a hint of blue at the corner of his eyes, though he's still pretending to be asleep.

You secretly sigh at the cutest pair of skelebros you've ever known.

-

Walking back to the living room, you notice that Undyne is sleeping while floating on the sofa-shaped water body. You wonder how she does it, but figure it must be a fish thing. Anyway, since she's sleeping, you wait to turn it back later.

You turn around the room and look at how there's glitter all over everything. A part of you wonders if you did that too. You grimace and secretly hope not.

"Nope, that was you." Sans gets up and chuckles as he walks over to you. He really was good at reading your facial expressions.

You stick your tongue out sheepishly. "Hello to you too, Pudding." 

He ruffles your hair lovingly. "So how come the sofa doesn't need to obey the laws of physics?" 

You shrug, "Shouldn't you tell me? I'm not the genius here."

He walks over and sticks a hand into the sofa. It feels like literal water when he sticks his hand in, and when he pulls it out, it drips gold coloured water no different than if he had stuck his hand into a pail of it instead. "That's so strange." He hums as he rubs his thumb and index finger together, "I wonder what would happen if I took a bucket and tried to scoop out a corner of the sofa." 

"Don't do that, though." You giggle, "If I change the sofa back, it might have a hole in it. Have fun explaining that to Undyne." 

"Ha." He drops the idea immediately, "Never mind."

-

Eventually, everyone's awake and you offer to turn the sofa back to normal, but Undyne doesn't want you to.

"It looks better like this! Nobody else has a POOL SOFA." She tries to bargain with Alphys.

"B-but nobody else w-will be able to sit in it!" 

"You also won't be able to shift it around." You add on. "You can't even push it." 

"NGAHHH!!! Okay fine, but if I want it again, you have to change it back for me, nerd!" 

You laugh, "Of course I will, I can change it to whatever you want." 

"Can you make it look like a fish shaped sofa then?! Alphys whatdd'ya think!"

"S-sure why not."

"Okay, gimmie a sec."

You walk into the kitchen to get your phone and Google "cool fish" for reference material.

You're too lazy to walk back over, so you just send your magic power through the floor and will the sofa to turn into the fish design. 

"How's this?" You turn to look at Undyne.

"FUHUHUHUHU! It's PERFECT!" She flops onto the sofa. "Wait! Make it fluffier! SUPER FLUFFIER!" 

Giggling, you manipulate the sofa again to change its texture and material. 

"NOW it's perfect! Thanks, nerd!" 

"Wait, doesn't that mean you can make my sofa look like a bottle of ketchup?" 

"SANS, YOU WILL NOT MAKE HUMAN DEBS TURN OUR SOFA INTO A BOTTLE OF KETCHUP." 

-

"Someone's at the door for you." Ashley shakes you awake.

You clamber out of your bed with a huge yawn, "m' cominnnn…" Your voice is laden with sleep. You take a look at your watch and it's 8pm. You'd slept for a few hours when you got home but you were still so tired. Sigh, age was really catching up on you.

Shuffling down the stairs and to the door, you swing it open. "Who izzit…" You rub your eyes sleepily.

"Heya. Debs." That voice jolts you awake immediately as you whip your head to look at your visitor.

"Jacob?!" You wonder if it's too late to shut the door again.

He actually manages to look sheepish, "In the flesh." 

"What are you doing here?" Your voice turns low, guarded.

"Uh, can I… come in?" He asks, eyes occasionally darting to the floor.

"I don't see why you can't say what you wanna say right here?" You give him a lopsided smile, but it doesn't reach your eyes. 

"Look I.. it's a little sensitive. It's about Kate." His voice carries a trace of desperation and he forces himself to meet your gaze.

You sense his emotions:

Worry. Apprehension. Fear.

When you're sure he's not just pulling a fast one over you, you step aside and let him in. 

"Make it quick." 

-

After he's done talking, Jacob leaves the house.

Once he's gone, Ashley comes back out of her room and sits down beside you on the sofa.

"What's going on? Are you okay? Who was that?" 

You wring your hands with a forced smile, "That was Jacob."

"Jacob?! Like, that backstabbing sack of horse shit who tried to turn the whole gang against you by spreading baseless slander that you were sleeping with Mark and every other influential gang member to climb your way to the top for no other fucking reason than because he was a fucking sore loser for losing his piss-ass position as Mark's right-hand man to you. That guy who eventually got kicked out of the gang when Mark found out. That Jacob?" You were amazed that Ashley didn't seem to need to breathe. You offhandedly wonder if she should've been a rapper.

"You left out the part where he tried to kill me. But yes, that Jacob." You laugh humorlessly. "Wow, the springtime of youth, huh." 

"The fuck did he want? If I knew that was Jacob I would've gotten you to poison his tea." 

You give a small smile, grateful for Ashley's vicarious anger. "Apparently, he got his position back when I left the gang."

You take a deep breath.

"Their last run went wrong and one of the rival gangs made off with Kate. They'd be fine if it was just about a ransom or some kind of exchange, but Jacob says that they're more likely to want to keep her. To teach them a lesson." 

"So why did Jacob come to you? Why not Mark? Isn't he the leader?" 

"Mark is desperate to get Kate back too. I mean, it's brutal. I can't imagine what they'd do to her. But Mark is adamant about not dragging me back into this life after I'd made it so clear I wasn't coming back." 

"Exactly. It's not your problem. Let them deal with their own shit. You were never even that close to Kate."

"Yeah but, Kate's having Jacob's baby." You pause to let that sink in.

"Oh shit, she's pregnant." 

"Yup." 

You could care less about Kate and Jacob and whatever the hell they wanted to do with their lives. If they wanted to make irresponsible decisions and die for it, then power to them. But that baby was an innocent. It didn't ask for this. The unborn baby shouldn't have to die for the bad life choices of its parents.

It wasn't your cross to carry. They made those decisions on their own. But since you had some sort of special power, wasn't it your responsibility to do the right thing? 

"So what are you going to do?" Ashley asks you, gripping your hand with worry. Her hands are shaking a little bit, like they used to back then.

You smile gently at her as you turn your palm up to hold her hand. You look up at her.

"Don't worry, Ash. I'm not the young stupid punk I used to be. What do you think I should do?" 

"I think you should let them choke on their own shit." She huffs, but then she continues. "But I know you can't do that. You're too kind for that." 

She pulls you into a hug. "Promise me you'll be safe." 

You hug her back, "I promise." 

-

You continue to sit in the living room even after Ashley goes to bed. Pulling out your phone, you figure it's time to correct the typo you made of Sans' ID on your phone.

-

**Debs**

Hey Pudding, still awake?

**Snow Pudding**

What, no knock knock joke? 

**Debs**

Not today… ): 

Wish you were here.

-

Sans immediately appears in your living room. 

He scans the room for you and walks over.

"Love? What's wrong?"

So immensely grateful that he came to find you, you start to cry. 

He sits down beside you and pulls you into an embrace, patting your head gently as you sniffle into his chest. Your pudding was such a great boyfriend. He'd dropped whatever he was doing to come and find you, and you didn't even have to ask. Who said boys couldn't take hints? 

Done crying, you enjoy the moment a little longer before you pull away to tell him everything that happened. 

"So basically, a fucker from your old gang, who also treated you like shit, impregnated one of your old gang friends and now she's captured by a rival gang and he wants your help to save her." 

"Sounds about right." You wince a little at the force of his anger and he notices. 

He takes a deep breath to calm himself, "And they need to involve you because?" 

"The rival gang, Black Spades, almost equals my old gang, Aces, in terms of power and resources. They could probably rescue her eventually if they had enough time, but they don't want to push it and having me on the team gives them a big advantage. Aces has a mole in Black Spades who's rather highly ranked, and Mark has also been offering a fair amount of territory and resources to ensure her safety and return. Working together, it'd helped to ensure her safety until recently."

"Recently?" 

"Yeah, one of the Aces idiots fucked up and killed one of the core members of Black Spades in a bar during a drunken brawl." You almost snarl. Trust those lackeys to fuck shit up and ruin plans for nothing when tension was already high. 

Sans raises a brow bone.

"So they want revenge."

You huff. "Essentially, yeah." 

Sans is silent for a long moment. "I want to help." 

You turn to him, worried. "No fucking way, it's too dangerous." Your eyebrows are furrowed. You're angry. You don't know why. 

"Even more reason for me to be there with you. And…" He walks over to you and touches your cheek, "I'm worried for you." Sans has never seen you so angry. You can't help it. Seeing your old mate from that part of your past unlocks a side of you that you've buried deep down. You didn't even realise you had slipped back into that state. 

You catch yourself and take a deep breath. You're no longer that angsty teenage girl with nobody on her side and everything to prove. You're surrounded by amazing monster friends and closer to your bff than you've ever been before. You also have a super sweet skeleton boyfriend whose reaction to your unreasonable outburst at him is to support and comfort you. He didn't even stop you, he offered to come with. You have your life back on track. You're a better person now. You have to be.

You look at him gratefully as you let your anger wash away, "Thanks, Pudding." You wrap your arms around his waist and bury your head in his chest. "Sorry." 

He smooths your hair and nuzzles the top of your head. "Always forgiven." 

-

Unwilling to spend the rest of the night alone, just before Sans can teleport back home, you grab onto his shirt, thinking to ask him to stay. 

However, as Sans did not plan for you to get taken along with him, although your surroundings turn to black, a new scene does not reappear in front of your eyes. Instead, you're surrounded by complete blackness.


	14. Mind over matter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC finds out a little more about herself

"...Well, shit." Is all you can say as you're floating in the black void. 

Meanwhile, Sans is holding on to Kiwi and has teleported back to your living room in hopes that you were just left behind. He breaks out into a complete panic when you are not there and he cannot find you. 

He's terrified to have lost you because he doesn't know how to get you back. He doesn't even know where or why you've gone. 

All he knows is that he felt you follow him halfway through his teleportation and then you disappeared… 

Hey, why the hell is Kiwi flickering like a light?

Interestingly, you're actually watching all this in real time after you tapped on a strange little line of white. It floats in front of you like a screen and you try to call out to him to let him know that you're fine, but he can't hear you. 

As you're mulling over what happened to your rabbit, you hear a voice.

"Well hello, what an expected surprise." 

You spin around to see a monster with a black blob body and a scarred white face. 

"Hello!" You wave, glad that you're not alone in this place. 

"I'm Debs! Do you mean you knew that I would come? How?" 

The monster smiles sadly, "When you are here in this void for as long as I have been, you have a lot of time to learn how to peep into every timeline." 

Oh my god, how long has this poor monster has been stuck in this dark and terrible place? His waves of loneliness are surging around your soul, along with a faint excitement to see you.

"I have been here forever, and also not at all." He answers enigmatically.

"Whoa, you can hear my thoughts?" _What's your favourite ice cream flavour?_

Amused, he replies, "I must say I'm a fan of chocolate." 

_Wow, that's pretty cool... Hey why would I talk if you can hear my thoughts? This is so much easier~_

"Well… although I can hear your thoughts, I must admit it is nice to hear another person's voice after being alone for so long." 

"Hmm… Okay!" 

You think for a moment before you start to sing your favourite uplifting and motivational song. You're not very good though, so you hope he has low standards. 

"It's raining tacos, out of the sky." You bob to nonexistent music.

"Tacos! No need to ask why, just open your mouth and close your eyes." You do a little spin! "It's raining tacos!" _Raining tacos~_ "Out in the stre-" 

"...What are you doing?" The monster has watched you for a while, unsure of what to make of you.

"Singing you a duet with myself." You try to continue the song but he cuts you off.

"Yes indeed. But why?" 

"Didn't you want to hear more of my voice?" You were just getting to the good part, too. "Since we're stuck here we might as well make the most of it."

You float around, doing a kind of backstroke in the air while humming the rest of the song since he doesn't seem to want to let you continue. You must not have met his very high standards.

The strange monster chuckles, amused. "Thank you for your song, but there is no need,for you must be getting back soon.” His expression turns solemn, “There is someone anxiously awaiting your return." 

You immediately stop air swimming.

"Back? You know how I can go back? Then why are you still stuck here?" 

"I am unable to return... for I do not have what you do."

He pauses, deep in thought.

"... I can sense that the blood of a time mage flows through you. You merely have to wait for the next time Sans teleports. The next time he creates a rift through the void, try summoning your magic and will yourself to go back to him." 

"Huh, that sounds simple enough! Will it work?" You grin, pleased that it wasn't as bad as you thought. 

"I do not know for sure, for it is only a hypothesis. I am not a time mage and have no way of testing the theory out for myself, you see." 

"...A time mage, eh." You cross your legs like a meditating monk, hoping that it will help channel wisdom. "D'you think that's how I got sucked in here?"

"Hmm yes... that is my current theory. As Sans was teleporting, your sudden pull on him caused him to lose focus. During his brief waver of concentration, your sensitivity and connection with the void must have pulled you in here as you were passing through." 

"Ah." You think for a bit, "So how exactly does summoning my magic get me out of here?"

"Didn't you see your rabbit flicker just now?"

"Oh yeah, I did. Why's that?" 

"I am not completely sure, but I suspect that your rabbit is linked to you via your soul. With you trapped in here, the connection is unstable, causing it to flicker. This must also mean that your rabbit cannot exist without you. Regardless, with part of your soul linked to that timeline, it should be easy for you to summon your magic and will yourself back." 

"I knew Kiwi was magic!" You slam a fist down on your palm.

"Interesting. How did you know?"

"She doesn't poop." 

"...."

"So how do you know I have the bloodline of a time mage?"

"well, of course, as a scientist I have studied many things. I am also by nature more sensitive than most. Furthermore, it is also based on observation. Your ability to access your timeline just moments after your entry is testament to the potency of your bloodline." He hums and floats a circle around you.

"Although, it appears that you are also very sensitive to matter manipulation. You must have very powerful parents."

Matter manipulation? He must be referring to the way you transmute things. You wish he had called it transmutation,though, then you could feel like Edward Elric. 

"My birth parents? Do you know about them?" 

"No, I apologise... I did not look specifically into your past." 

"Aww… it's fine." You're a little disappointed, but there's no point dwelling on it. 

"So can I take you with me?" You can't imagine leaving this poor monster alone here. 

He shakes his head sadly, "I appreciate the thought, but you cannot. For while you do have the potential of a time mage, you do not yet know how to wield its power." 

He turns to your current timeline and urges you, "I know you must have many questions, but you should go now. Sans looks like he's about to go crazy." 

You turn to see Sans teleporting desperately around what seems to be a forest. He's summoned some kinds of giant bone dragon heads and is levelling the area with their laser beams. 

You have no time to marvel at how OP your boyfriend is because the way he's sobbing and crying out so desperately for you breaks your heart. Watching how self destructive he is in his sorrow, you subconsciously start to summon your magic, eager to go back to him.

Suddenly, you realise something, "Hey! Are you a friend of Sans?" You've just noticed this monster’s waves of fondness as he said Sans name, but you're already being pulled out of the void. Guess it worked after all.

"Mmm… you could say that." 

And that's all you get before you land directly on top of Sans, sending you both crashing to the floor.

"Debs?!" Sans cries out, grabbing on desperately to you. He chokes back a sob. "I was so terrified. Frisk they- they couldn't load a save and I thought that you were lost forever and-" 

"Okay Pudding, you gotta breathe for me." You place your hand on his shoulder, voice strained against his onslaught of panic. It's a good thing that you're familiar with his magic, so you can somewhat manage the potency of his battering waves of anguish. 

"Follow me. Breathe when I breathe." You take slow, intentional breaths as he grabs on to you and tries to follow your lead. He doesn't really need to breathe, but going through the motions is effective in calming him. 

You're not sure how much time has passed before he finally calms down. His face is tinted with dried blue streaks and you cradle him to your chest. You're both still lying down on the forest floor, but make no effort to move. His arms are wound almost painfully tight around you, as if he's so afraid you'll disappear again.

"Aren't you gonna welcome me home?" You try to lighten the mood, finger tracing gentle circles around his skull.

He takes a deep breath, but he still can't speak.

You look up at the dark night sky and remember the last time you went stargazing with him. You sigh. It's a pity you don't have time to do that now. 

You wait a little longer before you speak again. 

"Wanna take us home, Pudding?" You tap his arm.

He looks almost mortified at the idea of having to teleport again.

"Don't worry, I can come back pretty easily even if I get lost again! I'll explain when we're home, okay?" 

When he hesitates, you ask, "Are we able to walk to any of our places from here?" 

He shakes his head with resignation. 

"...Okay." He finally says, as he grabs you in a bear hug, holding you as close to him as is physically possible. His ribs are a little pokey, but you don't stop him.

He teleports the both of you back to your place and he only relaxes when he sees that you're still with him. 

“See? Told you I’d be fine. Anyway, like I said, I can always come back easily if I get stuck in the void again.”

This seems to snap him back to his senses, “The void?”

“Yeah, the place in between spaces.” You yawn, “I really want to talk about it, but I don’t think now’s a good time. What say you join me in bed and we call it a night?” 

He looks like he's about to argue, but instead he nods slowly. 

“Great. But you gotta change first. You were lying on the forest floor.”

As Sans teleports back home to clean up, you pick out some clothes and make your way to the shower. 

During your shower, you try to process whatever information you had gleaned during your time in the void. 

So you had the bloodline of a time mage, which meant that it was likely at least one of your parents was a time mage. This also meant that magic was hereditary, although you weren’t sure if it was limited to that. If it was, that meant that your other parent might be a ‘matter manipulation’ mage as that void monster had put it. Regardless, he had suggested that your parents were powerful mages. Those were just postulations, of course, but that was already a whole lot more than you ever knew about your parents. 

It's not like you never tried to ask. But your grandfather didn't know anything, and your grandmother had died before you were old enough to ask.

The void monster had also told you that he was able to observe the various timelines. This meant that there was the possibility that you would be able to as well if you stayed there long enough. If you did that, would you be able to find out who your parents were? Was there a point? How were you even going to go back there? Asking Sans to accidentally lose you again across time and space seemed like a terrible idea. 

Speaking of Sans, the void monster seemed to know Sans and even felt fondly about him.

You wonder what kind of relationship existed between them.

You also remember Sans mentioning something about Frisk and loading a save? What did that mean? 

**GAAAAAAAHHHHHH!**

You shampoo your hair with ferocity, unwilling to think about this anymore in light of the fact that you still have that issue with Kate, Jacob and the Aces. You also have a mildly traumatised boyfriend whom you hope feels better soon. 

Honestly, the thought of cuddling him to sleep fills you with a childish joy. Although he looked like a human skeleton, Sans wasn't hard like human bone was. You didn't really know how to describe it. Like… he just felt like a really skinny human. He was still a little squishy. 

Maybe one day you could feel him up and figure out how his body worked. Giggling at your scandalous thought, you finally step out of the shower.

Sans isn’t there yet when you head back to your room. 

Petting Kiwi absentmindedly, you snuggle into bed and wonder a little sadly if he actually decided not to come in the end.

Seconds before you fall asleep, a skeletal arm snakes itself around your waist and Sans nuzzles into the back of your neck. His emotions feel more stable now. They’re calm.

You beam with happiness, glad that he’s feeling better. 

Wiggling around to face him, you loop one leg around his pelvic bone and wrap your arms loosely around him like he’s a bolster.

“Night, Pudding,” you whisper as you give him a peck on his neck bone. Mmhmm, he was definitely your favourite nightlight. 

“G’night, Love.” He nuzzles your forehead and places his arm over you too.

You fall asleep as you hear him mumbling something about strawberries.

  
  



	15. Love rival enters???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pool noodles and rubber ducks.
> 
> Do you know why I like sushi? Because it's made of 鱼 and 米.

Stretching, you wake up to feel something poking you in the face. You open your eyes a little to see Sans' toe. 

Wha- Oh yeah. You'd asked him to sleep over after the super crazy night you had.

"Hey, Love." You hear Sans' deep morning voice. Your sleepy brain notes how odd it is that he functions almost in the same way as humans do even without having all the parts. You chalk it up to magic. 

"Hmm?" Your eyes are still closed. Sleeeeepy….

"D'ya think you could uh, get your foot out of my face?" He chuckles, amused at how much you toss and turn in your sleep. How the heck you were able to turn 180 degrees while fast asleep was a mystery to him. At one point in the night, your unconscious self had even sat up and tried to explain to him how 42 was the answer to life, the universe and everything.

He didn't mind since he was awake, anyway. He really wonders how you thought he would be able to sleep with you sleeping so defenselessly beside him. You really had a lot of faith in his self control.

"Oops." You giggle and reorientate yourself, plopping into the pillows beside him. 

"What time are your classes today?" You ask. You need to find a time to head down to the Aces base.

"Hmm… I have 2 classes today but I should end by 3." 

"Great, I have a few deliveries to make in the morning as well. Meet you at my cafe at 330?" 

"Sounds good."

Sans pauses for a while, "Once we're done rescuing Kate, could you tell me about what happened to you yesterday?" 

You cup his cheeks and study his eyes. He looks and feels a little sad and worried, but you also want to tell him about the monster you met in the void.

"Okay Pudding, I will." You assure him. 

After nuzzling your cheek, he teleports home to prepare for class that day as you get ready to head to your cafe. 

-

Sans arrives around the appointed time, just as you close up shop for the day. You rode your bike to work because there was no way you could take a sports car into THAT part of the city. 

“Comeonnnnn Pudding.” You whine, “I’ll go slowly this time. I’ll be safe!” 

He hesitates, helmet in his hands. He wonders if he can just keep teleporting next to you until you reach the base. It’s a stupid idea, but at least he wouldn’t be dust.

“You didn’t even die the last time.” You pout, trying to lift him onto your bike with brute force and sheer willpower. However, he doesn’t budge an inch. 

“I’m sorry, how is **DYING** your standard here???” Sans is appalled.

You burst into a fit of giggles.

“I’ll buy you ketchup for a month if you get on my bike!” You bargain. 

Sans hesitates. He knows that there’s no other way to the base since he can’t teleport to a place he’s never been to before.

“Three. AND you’re paying for the next round of Grillby’s.”

“Deal!” You grin as you practically shove him onto the back of your bike.

-

Sans didn’t know what he was expecting when you crashed through the roof of the Aces’ base with a “WOOHOO!!”, interrupting the gangsters in the midst of their poker game. 

“Whats up, muthafuckas.” You say as the motorbike comes to a stop and you take off your helmet. Cooly, of course. You even did the hair swing-flip. It went slow motion in your mind.

Sans gives you a pointed look before he flops back over the bike.

“What! It sounds cool!” You stick your tongue out at him. 

The gangsters have pulled their guns on you, unsure what to make of a crazy girl with a rabbit on her shoulder who crashed into their base with a half-conscious skeleton flopped over her motorbike. 

“Stand down.” A familiar voice orders.

You turn around to locate the source of the voice, “Mark!” You call out, going over to give him a fist bump. 

“What, no hug?” He teases.

“No can do, I gots me a skelly boyfriend now.” You say as you turn to your Pudding. His skeleton dragon heads are out again, aimed at the terrified gangsters although he’s still half flopped over your bike.

One of the skeleton heads seems to be tilting in Mark’s direction.

Mark chuckles darkly as he looks as Sans.

“What’s up with your ninja outfit?” Mark asks with a knowing grin.

“For stealth, of course. What’s up with the roof?” You point at the hole you made in the rafters.

“We gave up rebuilding it over and over again when you were still around, but we got it fixed up since you left.”

You stick your tongue out sheepishly.

“Guess we’ll have to repair it again.” He grins. You’re still as crazy as you used to be.

“So Jacob said you need help with a rescue op.” 

“Ah yes. He told me he’d gone to you for help. You don’t really have to be here, you know.” 

“I know.” You tuck your helmet under your arm, “I’m here because I want to be.”

He looks at you with gratitude. 

“Thanks, doll. We could use the assist.” 

You glance over at Sans, whose teeth are, well they’re always bared, but he looks like he’s about to growl too. “No pet names.” You tell Mark while tying your long highlighted hair into a high ponytail, “It looks like I have a jelly skelly.” You giggle and wave to Sans.

Mark sighs, but he complies.

“Got it, Debs. Want to hear the plan?” 

You beckon Sans over with a finger and the three of you head inside the base to continue the conversation. 

-

“Ninja to cupcake. Ninja to cupcake. The fish have left the basket. I repeat, the fish have left the basket.”

“What the hell, why’s my codename ‘cupcake’? And what do you mean the fish have left the basket? What would fish be doing in a basket?”

Sans complains while squatting beside you. You’re both inside the base of Black Spades and while Mark and the others have gone to negotiate and distract the leader and his core team, your job is to rescue Kate with Sans' help. Jacob and someone you’ve nicknamed ‘Sharkbait’ are going to look for Kate from another entry point.

“Obviously it’s because ‘pudding’ would have been too obvious. Everyone knows you’re my pudding!” You roll your eyes, that was so obvious. “And, fish belong in the sea. Fishermen snatch them out of the sea and put them in baskets to sell!”  
“So??” Sans is so lost.

“So, I’m saying that the guards have gone for their shift change and this is the perfect time to grab Kate and get out of here.” 

“Then why didn’t you just-”

“Who’s there!” A guard comes back inside the room with his gun drawn and pointed at Sans, whose head was peeking out from behind your cover. 

“Cupcake! Your frosting has been compromised!” You shout as you grab Sans’ collar and pull him completely behind the cover. Simultaneously, you send your magic power through the floor and the body of the guard, turning his gun into a pool noodle. A short one.

Sans uses his blue magic to send the guy crashing to the ground, effectively knocking him unconscious.

As the rest of the guards rush up, you exchange glances. 

“No bone dragons!” You cry out to Sans when you see him summoning them from a crack in the void.

Hey, maybe you could use that opportunity to meet the void monster next time.

“They’re called Gaster Blasters!” He complains as he uses his magic to grab two of the approaching gangsters to send them crashing into each other. At the same time, you disarm them and turn two random bits of junk on the floor into upgraded versions of nerf guns with stun bullets and fire them at the remaining gangsters with rather haphazard aim. Anyway, you have an unlimited supply of bullets, so it doesn’t matter if you hit your mark only 50% of the time. If you have 200 bullets, that’s still an absolute of 100 shots. 

When you’ve knocked them all out, you turn a few of their crates into a giant cage and lock the gangsters inside. You didn’t create a key, but they'll figure it out somehow. 

Eventually, you find Kate locked in a store room. Once they're unarmed and unconscious, you get Sans to teleport the two gangsters who are guarding her into the giant cage you created.

“Wait, couldn't we have just done that in the first place with all the other gangsters?? We didn’t even need to knock them out!”

“But what’s the fun in that!” You grin, adrenaline coursing through your veins. “Don’t you love seeing the looks on their faces when I turn their guns and knives into pool noodles, rubber ducks and sushi?”

Sans groans as he slaps a hand to his forehead, but he has to admit that it was rather hilarious. 

"And it’s not everyday that I get to shoot people with stun bullets either!” You laugh a little maniacally. 

Sans makes a mental note never to make you mad.

Changing the locked door in front of you to a wall of bubbles, you and Sans walk in to see Kate handcuffed to the table.

“Debs?” Kate looks up and sees you. 

“Missed me?” You grin as you walk over to her and turn her handcuffs into a pile of ash. 

“You’re so OP.” Sans mumbles.

“Awww, so are you, Pudding.” You turn back to Sans and coo, proud of how awesome your boyfriend is.

Sharkbait and Jacob come bursting through what used to be a door.

Jacob runs to Kate and desperately looks her up and down, “Did they- Did they hurt you?” 

“No. I- I’m fine.” Kate is a little weak and she hasn’t showered for a while, but she’s otherwise fine. 

“They really didn’t do anything to you?” Jacob probes.

“Yeah, Kel made sure they didn’t touch me. Also, the author’s a softie.” Kate explains.

“Author?”

“Nevermind.”

You’re wiping away happy tears from your eyes at the touching reunion when you hear a voice behind you.

“Debby.”

You spin around and see Caleb, the leader of the Black Spades. He’s knocked Sharkbait out.

Oof, poor Sharkbait. Maybe you should have given him a better code name. 

Anyway, Caleb is grabbing on to Mark, whose hands are tied behind his back. Poor Mark looks pretty beat up. Guess Caleb got pretty mad when he found out we messed with him.

“What’s up, buttercup.” You wink as you meet Caleb’s gaze. 

“I believe your uncle made it clear that you were not to involve yourself in the Black Spade’s matters.” He growls.

"What if I do, though?" You smile sweetly.

"You'll regret this." Ooh a threat. You _love_ threats.

You glance at Sans and he nods.

“Go tell my uncle he can suck it.” You say as you turn the floor beneath him into quicksand and disarm the rest of his crew who came with him. As he falls halfway through the floor, you turn the quicksand back to concrete. Good luck getting out of that you shitstick!

In the moment that Caleb releases Mark, Sans teleports everyone back to Aces’ base. 

-

"Up high!" You raise your hand really excitedly when you land, thinking of giving everyone a super high five to celebrate your overwhelming victory. Save for Mark's black eye, and Sharkbait's concussion of course. 

Sans is the only one who can give you that celebratory high five though, as you hear gagging and retching sounds all around you. You were so lucky you didn't get that side effect.

Maybe it was because of that time mage bloodline you had. 

"I wonder why you're the only one who doesn't get nauseous." Sans muses, "Is it because you're a mage?" 

"Yes and no." You say, "I'll tell you later!" 

He raises his brow bone.

"It's just a hunch but it's a good one." You beam at him.

Kudos to Jacob, whos one of the fastest to recover. He walks over to shake your hand, "Thanks for helping to save Kate. I don't… I don't know how to thank you." 

You slap it like a high five. "Take care of Kate, you piece of shit." 

"Sorry bout uh, everything." He rubs the back of his head awkwardly as Kate slowly recovers and comes beside him to thank you.

"...It's fine." You smile, "It's over."

And it really is.

"Sure we can't get you to stay? Your boyfriend can join us too." Mark walks up, still mildly green in the face with a little black eye. You try to stifle a laugh, but then you just burst out laughing instead. 

He's a little embarrassed but he presses on, "You don't have to be an official member. You can just come and hang out whenever you want, and we'll offer you our protection. You can just help us out whenever. We'll only ask you if we're desperate." 

You and Sans were a killer team. Even without Sans, Mark was hard pressed to just let you leave. Aces wasn't half of what it was without you.

You're sure it has nothing to do with how worried he is about you. It's been so long but you can tell he still hasn't let you go. Not that you had a cheat code emotion-sensing system or anything.

"Don't push your luck." You grin. "Sans can protect me all on his own." You wink at your pudding, who's suddenly blushing blue again. The cutie looks so happy, though.

"What about the Black Spades? Caleb sounded like they'd be after you." 

"I appreciate it, but I'm not your problem, Mark." 

You turn to walk back to Sans. "Ready to go home, Pudding?" 

"Can we teleport?" His eyes are pleading, and you feel like you've dragged him around enough for today. 

Giggling, you nod your head and his relief is palpable. 

You turn back to the gang and wave. "Goodbye forever guys! Seriously, don't call me." You say that to Jacob, but you really mean Mark. The way his feelings are washing around you spell 'stupid boy with an undying crush' with a capital SBWAUC. 

"Send me pictures of the baby!" You call out to Kate as Sans holds you in a bear hug and teleports both of you and your bike back home.

By the time you reach home, it's like 4am. 

This was not a practical time for a deep conversation. The void talk would have to wait.

You were in the kitchen, looking for a snack because you were so hungry, but you were too tired to cook anything. 

You barely had enough time to sleep before work started for the day. 

Damn, adulting was hard. Wait, you were your own boss weren't you? Well, for all your hard work, you decided to give yourself another day off! Satisfied with your decision, you lie on the floor.

"Why are you lying on the floor?" Sans asks.

"Because I'm too dirty to lie on the table." 

Sans had no reply to that.

You roll and stretch on the kitchen floor.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" 

"Nothing, I guess. I don't have any classes to teach tomorrow."

"Cool. I gave myself a day off." 

"A day off?"

"Yeah, benefits of being employee of the month."

"... You're the only employee." 

"Exactly. The company can't do without me." 

Sans chuckles, "So what do you wanna do on your well deserved day off?" 

"Hmm…. How about a date?" You sit back up, excited. "We can end the day with dinner with Paps. I still haven't gotten around to eating his Friendship Spaghetti."

"I like the sound of that " Sans smiles, "But uh, has Paps told you why it's called friendship spaghetti?" 

"No... Why?" You tilt your head with confusion, noting that Sans has an odd look on his face.

"You'll see." 


	16. hOI!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enigma and fluff. That's the pattern here!

It's date day! 

You're waiting for Sans outside the carnival because you ended up having to make a last minute delivery in the morning. You'd forgotten all about it! You were lucky you still made it in time for your customer's surprise birthday party. 

"Hey, Love" Sans says, resting his head on yours from behind. He wraps his arms around your waist, "Ready to go?" 

You jump excitedly as you swing around to face him, "You're here!!" 

Sans manages to dodge just in time before you uppercut him with your head. 

"Let's go let's go!" You grab his hand and practically drag him through the carnival. 

After taking a few rides, you notice a store you've never seen before. When you push the door open, you freak out.

"SANS!! That shop owner is so cute!" You see a cat-dog thing with grey hair and a striped blue and yellow shirt, and all but run over to the counter.

"hOI! Welcom to da TEM shop!" It greets you when you stop in front of it.

"Hello!" You greet back cheerily. 

"That's Temmie." Sans catches up and introduces you.

"Hi Temmie, what's this?" You point at one of the boxes stacked tall into a tower near the counter. It has a label 'Tem flakes'. 

"Temmie flakes!" Says Temmie.

"An original breakfast!" You turn to look for the source of the voice. Oh, it's another monster that looks like Temmie! But it has black hair.

"Temmie flakes?" You look at Sans to see if he'd like one. He shrugs with an amused grin.

"It's so good you can't taste it!" Another Temmie-like creature walks out from the back of the store.

"Temmie flakes!" Yet another Temmie-like creature appears. How many were there?? They were adorable! You wanted to squish one! Or pet it till your hand fell off. Which meant pets forever!

"Don't forget to digest it." 

"Wha-" you begin before you get abruptly cut off.

"Temmie flakes in your mouth!" More Temmie-like creatures appear and it's only now that you realise they had some kind of catchy tune going. 

"Temmie flakes!" 

The grey haired shopkeeper Temmie seems to finish the song. "Good Job, Temmie, Temmie, Temmie, Temmy with a Y and… not you, Bob, you're fired. You be mised a line." 

You spin around to see one of the Temmie-like creatures burst into tears. 

"Don't fire Bob!!" You run to Bob and hug him. He must already feel so alienated for being called Bob when everyone else was a Temmie!

Bob stops crying as one of the Temmies looks at you "OMG!! humans TOO CUTE." As it literally slumps on the ground, legs in the air.

One even walks over and starts petting you, "awwAwa cute!!" 

Cat-dogs can pet humans?? A new world has opened up for you. 

"Hnnnn…. i donts wana fire Bob, but i gota pay for gradskool. Bob's no good." Shopkeeper Temmie turns to you. 

You cradle Bob in your arms as one of the other still conscious Temmies says "yayA! For tem to pursu higher education." 

"I'll pay for your college!" You had money anyway, and this was for the good of society! You were investing in a life! AND Bob would be able to keep his job. Your eyes burn with conviction.

"WOA!!" Shopkeeper Temmie's eyes widens as it vibrates, "thas ALOT o muns… can tem realy acepts…"

You nod your head passionately, "Of course! I would love to!" 

Shopkeeper Temmie hesitates a little longer before it nods happily, "OKs!!!! tem go to colleg and make u prouds!!!" 

You happily trade numbers with Shopkeeper Temmie as Sans doubles up in laughter beside you. 

When you're done shopping, you walk out of the store with a box of Tem flakes. As you pass Temmy, it asks if you've opened your box of Tem flakes yet. When you shake your head, it scrunches up its face. "Can't blame a BARK for tryin'..." You swear you hear some kind of dark chiptune playing in the background when it says that. 

Confused, you finally leave the store. Sans is still laughing heartily beside you and he has to wipe blue tears from the corner of his eyes. 

"What!" You demand. You had no idea what was so funny.

"Nothing, you're perfect." He says as he pulls your hand and leads you somewhere. "Follow me, I know a place you'll love." 

You're led in front of an ice cream cart manned by a cool blue bunny. You pick kiwi up and use her paw to wave at the shopkeeper. He waves back at Kiwi good naturedly. 

"How'd you know I liked ice cream!" You turn to Sans, beaming as you put kiwi back on your shoulder.

"Is there any desert you don't?" Sans chuckles. "But this is better than ice cream. It's nice cream." 

You laugh at his pun but realise it really is called nice cream. Huh! How about that. 

"Nice cream for you miss? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart!" 

There are 21 flavours that don't mean a single thing to you, like 'midnight star', so you just choose one in your favourite colour. 

Unwrapping the nice cream, you notice there's something written inside the packaging.

"You look nice today!" You read out.

Sans is holding to his own nice cream cone as he turns to you.

"Says here on the wrapper." You point to it, "Awwww it's so sweet!" 

He pulls you over and nuzzles your cheek, "You do look really nice today." 

You tiptoe and return his kiss, giggling.

"What does yours say?" 

"Are those claws natural?" Sans snickers.

You laugh at the absurdity of it. 

"Hey, speaking of natural, why are you so soft? And how does your body work?" You sit down on a bench nearby and pat it, indicating for Sans to sit down too.

He sits down beside you and squishes your cheeks, "I'd say you're the soft one." He loves squishing your cheeks.

"Ogey yesh but wha yu no hard lika bone." 

He releases your cheeks and hums, wondering how he can put it simply. "Well, you know how monsters don't leave anything behind when they die? Like, humans leave their bodies but Monsters just dust?" 

"Mmhmm, yeah I've heard of it." You nod.

"Well, monsters are made of magic. Although we may look similar in appearance to humans or whatever, we don't actually have to take on the same physical properties."

You cross one leg over the other, deep in contemplation.

"So your bodies are physical like I can touch you, but while my organs regulate my functions and the different cells make up my body, your monster bodies are regulated and made up of pure magic. That's why although you look like the bones I have, you're not actually made of the same stuff, and everything works because of magic."

"Something like that, yeah." 

As you're mulling that new bit of information over, Sans breaks the silence.

"So uh, can you tell me about what happened that day? When I… when I lost you?" 

Oh. Wow. Where did you begin?

"Hmm…. Okay you know how your teleportation works?"

"Yeah… I kind of cut a line through our current space and the one I want to be in, then I phase through it." 

You nod, humming. "Yes but there's actually this mid-space you pass through." 

"Mid-space?" 

"Yeah, you cut a line through our current space and the space you want to be in, but how does it connect? It clearly doesn't connect physically." 

Sans rubs the bottom of his chin with his left hand, deep in thought. He has a hunch, but lets you continue anyway.

"It's connected by the void." You say, "It's a non-space that doesn't really contain anything but also contains everything. As you were moving from my house to yours, you passed through the void, which connected those two areas."

You ask Sans to help hold your ice cream as you stick one finger from each hand up in the air.

"Look, if my two fingertips represent different places on a single plane, how do I go from finger A to finger B? My two fingertips are seemingly disconnected right? But it's not. If I could somehow travel via the air, I could travel from one fingertip to the other. I got stuck in the 'air' by accident when I distracted you during your move from one fingertip to the other." 

You pause, giving him a moment to process that information. 

"You know, when I was there, I was actually able to observe everything that was happening through this kind of… screen. I saw you teleporting around destroying trees and everything." 

You turn to Sans, and his expression is taut. You figure he's recalling how he felt back then and you feel a little guilty because it wasn't your fault exactly, but it also kind of was.

"So that place connects space, but I think it also contains time. I was only able to observe our timeline," you continue, "But I'm guessing there are multiple timelines in there. For whatever reason." 

You take your ice cream cone back and start munching on it.

"Hmm.. how do you know there are multiple timelines?"

"There was a monster in there with me. He said that he's been there for a long time and knew how to peek along the various timelines." 

"Another monster?" This seems to snap Sans back to the current reality.

"Yeah, he seemed to know you." You look at him and grip his free hand in yours, "I'm sorry, I didn't ask for his name. But he said he was a scientist and he had a white scarred face and a black body. He was also really nice." 

Sans immediately sits up straight, "A scientist? How long has he been in that void??"

You're a little taken aback at Sans intensity, but you tell him whatever you know. 

A few moments later after exchanging questions and answers back and forth, Sans turns to you, incredulous.

"I believe... you may have just found my father, Gaster." 

"Your father???" Your jaw drops.

"I'm sorry I didn't try harder to get him out with me." You frown, wondering what you could have done differently. Maybe you could have held onto him as you summoned your magic and dragged him out with you. Shit. Why didn't you think of that?

"It's fine." Sans assures you, "I'm just glad that at least you managed to get out of there. How did you anyway? What else did he tell you?" 

You proceed to tell Sans all about what Gaster told you, including your bloodline, your parents and how Kiwi was linked to your soul.

Sans listens with rapt attention, more certain that Gaster was indeed the monster you met in the void.

"...So you're saying that you might be able to find your parents and get my father out of the void if you head back in there?" 

He's also looking at Kiwi as if a piece has finally clicked in the puzzle of his mind. 

"Yeah." You huff, "But I have no idea how." 

You turn to Sans and look at him, worried that it might be a trigger, "Do you want to try?" 

He's silent for a moment before he agrees, "Yeah. I panicked because I didn't know what was going on the last time. But if it's like you say and you can come back easily with your magic, it should be okay. We'll also do it safely under very controlled circumstances. I don't want to try to get my father back and end up losing you too." He grips your hand a little harder.

"Don't worry, nobody will be lost." You grin at him. "Don't forget, I'm OP and so are you!" 

He chuckles as he taps his half eaten ice cream cone in yours, "To the power of OP." 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/FvxzKpMHMTQ
> 
> Listen to this! I have made my entire family listen to my acapella cover of this song as I wander around the house /laughs in evil/
> 
> My father can't believe I'm getting married in a few months.


	17. Love you from my head tomatoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smells like something's cooking!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See warnings at bottom of the novel if they're impt to you. Don't wanna ruin the surprise by putting it at the top :)

"WOOOO!! I WIN!!" You cry out with joy as hotdogs fall around you. 

"Excuse you, you mean that **I** won." Sans laughs.

He had challenged you to see how many hotdogs you could balance on your head, and while he only managed to balance 23, you managed 29!

"You may have done the stacking, but I did the balancing! So that means I won!" 

"What?? Then you totally cheated! Halfway stacking my hotdogs, you got bored of doing it carefully and decided to try tossing then up instead!" Sans argues.

"It was testament of my skill! I totally nailed it." You smile a little sheepishly but press on because you're COMPETITIVE.

"Only if by nailed it you mean you tossed it in my face because you thought it would be cool if I could catch it with my mouth instead." 

"Hey, you're the one who asked for it! You said you'd do if it gave you +40 points!" 

"Yeah, but then you didn't even aim for my mouth!" 

"Why should I have! You're the competition!" You cross your arms, smiling proudly, "Anyway, I won! Now cough up my prize." 

Rolling his eyes with a grin, Sans teleports back to the store. He would have lost on purpose anyway. 

He buys you the white fluffy unicorn with a pink mane as your well deserved prize. It was the one from Despicable Me! You loved it. You **needed** it.

"Gimmie gimmie!" You wiggle your fingers towards it as he hands it to you. "ITS SO FLUFFEHHHH!!" You cry as you shake it. Feels good. So soft. Melts. T^T

"That's what Agnes did!" You defend yourself when you catch him judging you with an amused expression.

"Agnes who?" 

"The one from the movie Despicable Me!" 

"Never watched it." He shakes his head. 

"HEATHEN!" You cry out with disbelief.

"Hey, don't be _unicorn_ descending!" He places a hand to his chest in mock offense.

"That was a stretch and you know it. Okay, plans made. We'll watch it after dinner with Paps!" You turn to him, excited that you get to watch it while holding on to the actual unicorn.

Laughing, Sans ruffles your hair. "Okay, sure thing. Time for dinner?" 

"Okay, I rode my bike here!" You wiggle your eyebrows. 

"Uh…. I'll just teleport that too." Sans quickly says before you can argue.

-

"Hey Paps!" You call out as you teleport into the living room.

"HUMAN DEBS, HOW VERY NICE TO SEE YOU!" Papyrus has an apron that has crossed out the word 'grate' and it now reads 'I know it's cheesy but I feel GREAT'. 

You giggle at how adorable Papyrus is.

"What's cookin, bro?" Sans pops over to the kitchen stove to take a look, but the pot is empty.

"AS IT IS HUMANS DEBS' FIRST TIME HERE, I WANTED TO MAKE IT SPECIAL. I THOUGHT WE COULD COOK TOGETHER!"

"Sounds great, Paps!" You say. You weren't a bad cook yourself. It came with running your own cafe.

"YES AND AS I WAS UNSURE WHAT TO COOK, I ASKED UNDYNE FOR ADVICE." 

"Oh no." Sans suddenly looks extremely worried as he glances around the house.

"What's up, nerd!!" You turn around and see Undyne and Alphys walking in the front door.

"AND SINCE I HAD ASKED FOR HER ADVICE, I ALSO INVITED HER TO JOIN ME! I HOPE YOU DO NOT MIND." Papyrus turns to you excitedly.

"Of course! I love hanging out with Undyne!" You don't know why Sans looks so worried but you think it'll be fun. You wave excitedly to Alphys too. 

"Thanks nerd, we can be BEST FRIENDS!! Cooking brings people closer together. Just make sure your WHOLE LIFE doesn't end up revolving around me! FUHUHUHUHU!!" 

Sans thinks to warn you, but he notices how excited you are and decides to just let you have the full experience instead. 

Alphys will keep you guys safe. Probably.

"Hey, why don't you pass Princess Fluffybutt to me?" Sans figures he might as well protect your unicorn. "Then you'll have your hands free." 

"Okay! Hey, aren't you going to help us!" You say while handing Princess Fluffybutt to him.

"Uh…" Sans backs away slowly, "Don't you know the saying? Too many cooks spoil the broth!" He teleports away.

"Forget the nerd!" Undyne cries out. "We have cooking to do!!" She tosses her brown bag full of tomatoes to the kitchen table as she flips herself over the kitchen island. You would have given her a standing ovation 10/10 if you weren't already standing. All you can do now is clap and cheer at her agility.

"We'll start with the sauce!" Undyne orders. "Paps! Show Debs how it's done!" 

"YES, CAPTAIN UNDYNE!" Papyrus gives her a salute as he starts punching the tomatoes in full force, sending the battered bodies of tomatoes flying around the kitchen and splattering on the floor.

Sensing the impending danger, Kiwi hops off your shoulder and away into the house. It doesn't matter to you since you've been doing better at dealing with strong emotions recently, and these monsters are familiar to you.

"Debs! It's your turn! I don't want to see any petting! No petting the enemy! I need punching, crushing, SMASHING!!! Show me how you make spaghetti sauce!" Undyne roars as you make your way around the kitchen island. You try to punch the tomatoes like Papyrus did, but it just ends up slipping under your knuckles and hits Papyrus in the face. You figure you should change your strategy and slap it instead, but this time it almost lands **inside** Papyrus's eye socket. When you hear him cry NYOO-HOO-HOO, you realise you can't slap your way past this conundrum and decide to just summon your magic power and turn it all into mush on the table. 

"What next, captain Undyne!" You turn around with a salute, encouraged by the excitement that you can feel bubbling around you.

"Good work, soldier!" Undyne takes a pot and scrapes the mangled and pulverised pieces of tomatoes into the pot. "Now it's time for the pasta! Homemade pasta is the best!"

"YES IT IS!" 

"But store bought pasta is more convenient! Papyrus! Prepare the spaghetti!" Papyrus fills the pot up with water as he tosses the pasta in along with the empty box. 

"Debs! Stir it!" 

"Yes, captain!" You look for a spoon and start to stir the pasta, box and all.

"Faster!" 

You stir with all your might.

"Faster!!" 

You use both hands to stir it so quickly that the box and some strands of pasta are flying out of the pot.

"FASTERRR!!!"

You manipulate the molecules inside the water to create a mini water tornado. It's stirred so fast that half the pasta spins out the pot. You excitedly dodge the rogue noodles.

"PERFECT!" Undyne cries out as she puts the pot of scraped tomato onto the fire. "Debs! Turn on the fire!!!" 

You hop to the stove and put the burner on medium.

"That will cook it too slow! PAPYRUS!" Undyne turns and points at Papyrus, "Put it on maximum!" 

Papyrus turns the flames to a maximum.

"What?! Where's the COLUMN OF FIRE?!" Undyne roars.

"I took off the inferno setting." You turn around to see Sans leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed. 

"Why would you do that?!" 

"Uh, figured I only wanted to burn my house down ONE time." Sans rolls his eyes.

"FINE." Undyne turns back to the stove, "We'll do this the WIMPY WAY then!" 

"U-Undyne, I think you s-should stir the sauce." Alphys points out.

"If you say so!!" Undyne summons her blue spear and stirs the heck out of that sauce.

"Can I try??" You run up beside Undyne, excited to try holding a magic spear."

"Okay, punk! Stir it quick!" She hands the spear over to you and you stir the sauce with all the energy you can muster. When half the room is covered with spaghetti sauce, or just burnt tomatoes since that's all it is, Undyne tells you to stop.

-

When the kitchen is cleaned, you all sit down at the table looking at the pathetically small plate of sauce and soggy burnt noodles in the centre of the table.

"So how is this friendship spaghetti!" You turn to ask Papyrus.

"No don't-" Sans tries to stop you from asking, but it's too late.

"OH YES, HUMAN DEBS. I ALMOST FORGOT." Papyrus walks over to his kitchen cabinet and takes out some glitter. It didn't seem like the edible kind, either.

He shakes half the bottle onto the noodles. 

"NOW IT IS FRIENDSHIP PASTA. A PASTA FORGED THROUGH HARDSHIP WITH A BRILLIANT ENDING." 

"Oh." You turn to Sans. "So that's why it's called friendship pasta." 

He knocks his head on the table. "Mmhmm." 

"W-why don't we just order pizza?" Alphys suggests.

"I WANT PEPPERONI!"

"NGAHHH!!! Extra bacon!" 

You giggle, "I want rockets on my pizza!"

"They put ROCKETS on pizza?!" Undyne stands up in shock, "I want rockets too!" 

"It's a vegetable, Undyne!" You clarify.

"What?! NO VEGETABLES!" 

"V-vegetables are g-good for you." 

"Fine! ONE vegetable! No more!' 

"What about you, Pudding?" You turn to Sans.

"I think the pizza has _mushroom_ for improvement." 

"SANS!" Papyrus rolls his eyes.

"Mushrooms are lame!" Undyne points at Sans in accusation.

"We can just order more pizzas!" You raise your hand in the air as you throw out your suggestion.

"O-okay I'll order the p-pizzas." Alphys goes to take her phone and Undyne follows her.

"Great! I'll start up Despicable Me!" 

"DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT YOURSELF, HUMAN DEBS!" Papyrus turns to you, "YOU ARE ALSO VERY GREAT." 

"Thanks Paps! But I was talking about a movie. That's the title." 

"OH. WELL THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A VERY NICE MOVIE." 

"It is! Paps I promise you'll love it!" 

You run to the living room to set up Netflix as Sans comes to join you.

"You look like you had fun." Sans nuzzles the back of your head.

"I did!" You turn to Sans, "I thought you didn't wanna join us!" You take his arm and chomp it in mock anger.

"Eew!" He takes his arm back and wipes it on you. "You _gnocchi_ , I love you from my head _tomatoes._ I had to make sure my girlfriend didn't die from a pasta related accident." He winks at you.

You giggle as you hook their laptop up to theTV.

-

You end up watching all three Despicable Me movies.

"ALPHYS! CAN YOU MAKE ME MY OWN MINIONS?" 

"I-I can try!" 

"I want the purple ones! The yellow ones are LAME!"

"I just want churros!" You turn to Sans, eyes shining as you have Princess Fluffybutt in a bear hug.

He ruffles your hair with a chuckle. He knows now that you really did sound like Agnes back at the carnival when you shook Princess Fluffybutt with passion.

He wonders how many times you had to watch it to mimic it so perfectly. You even looked like her right now. Which part of you was an adult? 

As Undyne and Alphys leave, Sans asks if he should teleport you home.

"Ashley isn't coming home tonight, so why don't I stay over?" You turn to ask him.

"Sure, do you want to go home to get your clothes? You're still kinda covered in spaghetti sauce." 

"Hmm… Or I could just wear yours!" They always looked so comfy, and they were baggy, so you figured they would fit you. You kind of wanted a reason to wear his clothes too, wasn't that a girlfriend privilege?

He hands you a fresh set of clothes as you head off to shower. 

Whoaaaaaaa. Sans has a bathtub in his toilet. You fill it up with hot water as you strip and settle in with a low moan. You LOVE bathtubs. You wonder why you didn't think to install one in your own house. You should. You decide to ask Ashley to set one up once you were back home.

Humming, you take a look at the bottles around you. Amongst the various bottles of soap, you see… Bone cologne? Sans didn't smell like that, so it must be Papyrus'. 

They didn't have shampoo for obvious reasons, so you just rinse your hair and towel it dry. Slipping Sans' shirt on, you marvel at how comfy it is. The pants don't fit you though, but his shirt is long enough that it's fine. 

You emerge from the toilet, face flushed from the hot bath. 

"Your turn!" You open up the door to Sans' room, toweling off your still damp hair.

Oh wow. The moment he turns around to face you, his face tints in a navy blue and you can sense his waves of desire. Maybe you should have tried to wear those pants anyway. 

"Uh-" His voice cracks. He clears his throat, "What happened to the uh, pants." The way you smelled like him while wearing nothing but his shirt was driving him absolutely crazy. 

You giggle sheepishly, "They didn't fit." You scrunch the pants up in a ball and throw it in his face before taking a seat beside him on the bed.

You give him a kiss on the cheek. Your Pudding was so cute. 

As you sit there stewing in the silence, you feel like you can cut the sexual tension in the air with a knife. Sans was truly suffering, trying to stem his budding lust for you.

You turn to find him staring a hole into the ground. He's fiddling with his hands, trying to distract himself.

You know you can change the topic and drag the both of you out of this thick atmosphere but you realise that you don't want to. 

You weren't a loose girl, not by any means. Heck, you were 23 and still a virgin by choice. Of course there were many guys who tried, but you only wanted to sleep with someone you loved… and you loved Sans so much that your heart felt like it was going to overflow. 

You were never one to hold back from anything. You always knew what you wanted, and you know you want him. You know that you trust him with every fibre of your being, so what were you waiting for?

You stand up and walk in front of Sans as he looks at you, confused.

You cup his face with both hands as you give him a kiss on his teeth. You don't have to ask, because his desire is crashing against your soul. 

Sans grips the sides of your waist as you move closer to him, straddling his legs as you sit across him. You lick the inside of his mouth, kissing him in the only way you know how. Somehow, you find that a light blue tongue meets yours. You moan as your heartbeat quickens, pleased at the implications of his manifested tongue. 

You slowly grind against him as you kiss, intense passion washing through your core. Sans hands move down from your waist to your butt and you playfully bite his tongue when he squishes it in his palm.

He slides a hand under each knee and carries you further up the bed. You wrap your arms around his neck as he lifts you, breathing deeply.

"I love you." Sans whispers into the crook of your neck.

"I love you too." You say as you trace the back of his ribcage lightly through his shirt.

He crosses his arms over his body and removes his shirt, tossing it across the room. Marvelling at how smooth and firm his bones are, you trace the outline of his spine with the tips of your fingers. He lets out a low growl as you do.

"I don't…" You gasp as he nibbles your neck, " I've never done this before." 

He stops immediately and looks you in the eyes, "We can stop if you want." You feel him try to quash his desire, and you touch his cheek gratefully. He was always so considerate of your feelings. 

You shake your head, "Nah, I'm just telling you that I have no idea how to take the lead." 

"Good." He chuckles huskily as he snakes his hands under your dress-shirt and gently slides your underwear past your knees and down your ankles. "But I've never done this before either." 

Giggling, you take your shirt off to reveal a lacey light blue bra with a cute bow in the centre. As grateful as you are that you had cute underwear on today, you notice that Sans doesn't take the time to appreciate it as he focuses only on taking it off. 

Once he does, though, you're sporting the deepest blush. You've never been so vulnerable before, but you also don't feel insecure as you sense Sans feels nothing but complete adoration for you right now. 

As you're losing yourself in the moment, he pulls away suddenly as if he's remembered something. You feel his worry, not for himself but for you.

You tilt your head in confusion. Why would he be worried for you? What? Were you on your period?

"A monster bonds its soul only once it's whole life." He says after a while. You meet his eyes, silently willing him to continue.

"If we do this… my soul will be bonded to yours." 

Bonded? What did he mean?

He answers your unspoken question, "This means that our lives will be linked together, and I will never fall in love with someone else… if you leave or die prematurely, I will eventually waste away and can even die of heartache." 

You bite your lip, slowly considering what this means. It was like a monster marriage. A really permanent one. You couldn't imagine how vulnerable this was making Sans, and yet he was worried for you? When he was the one who could die from this? 

"It's normally a monster thing. It doesn't happen between humans obviously, but because we both have a soul, I'll still be bonded to you. I don't want you to go into this not knowing the implications. Of course, I would never force you to stay if you didn't want to but-" 

He starts to pull away and wants to tell you to think it through properly. At another time when you weren't overtaken by hormones or influenced by the situation. Although it was technically his commitment alone, he knows your kindness would compel you to stay even if you stopped loving him or changed your mind. He didn't want to take advantage of you, he wanted you to be free to decide.

You think it over, but only need a short moment. 

"Sans." You trace his jawline with the back of your hand. "I've always known that I would love only you in my lifetime." 

You never loved anyone before Sans and were comfortable with the thought that you would die without ever loving anyone. When Sans appeared, he not only accepted you entirely and unconditionally, but he was also the only one who understood you on an emotional, intellectual and literally magical level. Nobody had ever made you feel so loved, so protected.

He had some secrets, but you respected them. Everyone had their own _skeletons_ in the closet, and it didn't matter. Afterall, he was nothing but truthful to you. There was nobody you trusted more.

You had never been truly happy before he came into your life, and you could never imagine being without him. You were absolutely and irrevocably in love with your favourite skeleton, and knew he felt the same.

Sensing his apprehension, you cover his teeth gently with your fingertips before he can speak.

"I know that this makes you so much more vulnerable than it makes me, but I swear to you that I will never leave you. Sans, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. No matter what. And if you feel the same way," You put your other hand to your chest and pull out your soul, the most intimate part of your being. "...then I'm all yours." 

His reservations be damned. Your soul glows a brilliant red, met equally by his snow white.

It's the best night of your life as you make love till the sun rises.

-

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: no smut, but some light sexual tension and prelude to smut.
> 
> Find the smut continuation here:   
> [ click here ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21752371)


	18. Unfiltered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC gets mad at Sans for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comeon guys, we know the drill by now.

You feel a pull on your arm, waking you up.

"How do you even sleep like that?" You hear Sans' amused grumbling voice and open your eyes slightly to find him rescuing you from tumbling unceremoniously off the bed and safely into his arms. 

You grunt in reply and cuddle him like a bolster, holding him tight. Back to sleep you go as he starts to pet your head. 

Last night was really tiring for you, which came as a surprise since you didn't think Sans was the type to put in effort. You smile at the memory. 

You and Sans spent most of the time figuring it out since who knew anything about monster-human sex? Monsters were conservative by nature, which meant no porn, and the whole soul sex thing was new to you too. But it was one that was both physically and emotionally fulfilling. It was a solid 10/10 in your books even if it wasn't 'perfect' sex. Not that you would know, since he was the best you ever had.

"SANS!" Oh, it's Papyrus.

"Uh… yeah bro?" Sans calls out.

"WAKE UP YOU LAZYBONES! WHEN U ARE DONE CANOODLING WITH THE HUMAN, DON'T FORGET THAT YOU HAVE AN AFTERNOON CLASS TO TEACH TODAY." 

Oh no… how much of yesterday did Papyrus hear? That wakes you up.

"Kay, bro." Sans' face lights up a brilliant blue. Interesting, you realise that he lights up a navy blue when it he's turned on, and light blue when he's just embarrassed. 

"I AM GOING OUT FOR MY OWN CLASSES NOW. GOODBYE, SANS. GOODBYE, HUMAN DEBS."

"Bye Paps!" You call out.

"Cya, bro." 

"Well, Paps sure knows how to be subtle, eh?" You giggle sheepishly, pulling the blanket up to your neck.

"..." Sans closes his eyes in a grimace. He was so going to soundproof this room. 

"So… are we like, monster married now?" You ask, turning to him with a smile.

"Kinda." He looks at you, scanning your eyes to see if you regret it. "Looks like you're stuck with me for awhile."

"You mean you're stuck with **me** forever." You giggle, "Watch out, I'll turn all your belongings to pudding!" 

This garners a chuckle out of him.

"So what else is a part of our monster marriage?" You know it's really called a soul bond, but marriage sounds more like a choice to you. A choice to love Sans forever instead of being compelled. "You know, apart from us being together forever." You give him a kiss on his ribcage because you're too lazy to kiss his face.

He trembles a little at the kiss, subtly reminding you of last night, and you almost do it again but he shields his ribs with a hand. 

"Well, my lifespan is literally hundreds of years. It varies from monster to monster, but yeah I probably won't dust till I'm four to five hundred years old. And you'll essentially age as I age, never to naturally die of old age unless I do or dust prematurely." 

"Wait, how old are you now?" Did you just get married to a grandpa? Didn't the Chinese have a saying for that? Like 老牛吃嫩草 or something. 

"What? I just told you that you can live for hundreds of years and your first question is about how old I am?" Sans raises a brow bone incredulously.

"Uh yeah? Even if you told me how that worked I probably wouldn't understand it. But I need to know if I'm married to a grandpa." 

Sans chuckles, "I'm only 29." 

"Oh good." You heave a sigh of relief. You can't believe you never thought to ask. You really were an impulsive person if you could get married without even knowing how old your husband was. 

"So what else is there? Since our souls are connected, will you be able to sense where I am at all times? Will we get each other's superpowers?" You don't have to ask if you will get pregnant or have hybrid kids. You figure it probably isn't possible.

"No, that's… really about it."

"What about Kiwi? Does she have any effect on you now?" You get kiwi to come over from the corner of your room and place her in Sans arms.

A long minute passes before you say anything.

"Well?" You urge him.

Suddenly, Sans starts to cry. 

Taken aback, you don't really know what to do or say. Why was he suddenly crying?? 

"She-" He tries to speak, but has to choke back a sob.

"She's healing my HP." 

Your eyes widen as your mouth forms an O.

Last night, you and Sans had revealed your souls.

As he showed his to you, he told you that he had a special ability. While other monsters showed their real attack, defense and health stats, he could manipulate the data on his. He had never shown anyone his real stats before, but he had revealed himself completely to you. You watched patiently and without judgement as he let his veneer fall and you saw his true stats. His 1 attack and 1 defense were replaced with abnormally high numbers. 

This didn't surprise you that much as you already knew he was OP. But he also revealed something that he had kept hidden his entire life. One he didn't even bother to modify. One just hid it entirely.

You saw that he had only 1HP. 

You knew that for monsters, having 1 health point meant that he could dust in a single hit if anyone with the slightest ill intent attacked him. But you also knew that it directly correlated to their HoPe. You knew that for him, this meant that he was a lot more depressed and broken that he had ever let on. 

At that moment that he revealed himself to you, you didn't breathe a word about it. You only hugged him and thanked him for trusting you as he did.

But it bugged you. Of course it did. It hurt you to know how badly he was broken and suffering every day. 

It also filled you with awe to know that he could still bear to get out of bed everyday and be the amazing skeleton that was. 

You didn't know that Kiwi could heal HP, though, since your HP was always abnormally high and you never paid attention to detail. But that would make sense, realising now that you always healed faster when she was with you. You'd just never noticed before because she was rarely ever not with you.

That was good though, for more reasons than one. Obvious reasons aside, you were glad that something good for Sans came out of this monster marriage. It had seemed like he was on the losing end, since you technically got an extended lifespan and a loving husband forever without all the strings attached. 

"What's your HP at now?" You ask him after a long moment passes.

"Five." He replies.

"What? Why's it so slow!" You pout, patience was never your thing.

"Debs you don't get it. Monsters aren't supposed to be able to gain max HP, ever. We're not like you humans. Once hope is lost, our max HP decreases permanently even if we eventually come out of our depression. And if we lose all hope, we dust. That's how soul bonds, or monster marriages, can kill a monster. How we literally die of heartbreak." 

"Wha- that's bull." That was so unfair.

"That's because it takes a hell lot to pull our max HP down to begin with." 

Ah, there was that topic again. It was the one that Sans always skirted around and you never tried to touch. 

You think to change the subject, but Sans continues, "My HP is low because of what happened underground." 

You lean back on the pillows and on Sans' arm as he speaks.

"Frisk they- they are a time mage too." 

You sit up straight. WOT?????? Your mind is blown.

Sans starts from the beginning, where Frisk fell into the underground as a child, a few years back. He tells you about Frisk killing a few monsters. Some out of fear, some out of self preservation. This, he described as a 'neutral run'. 

He goes on to tell you that Frisk turned back time to try again because they felt so guilty for killing when they found out they could have spared everyone. He tells you about the failed runs, how Frisk kept trying to do it right and not kill anybody to get a 'pacifist run', but eventually became so frustrated that they ended killing every single one. Not just the ones who tried to kill them. They went hunting for innocents to kill. They even killed Papyrus, whom he says never even tried to kill Frisk at all. This 'genocide run', was the only one where Sans would do anything to try and stop Frisk. It was only when almost every single person he ever loved and cared for had died, that he stepped up to the plate. 

He tells you that he didn't touch Frisk because he made a promise, but breaks down as he admits it was all an excuse. An excuse to sit by and do nothing because there was no point in doing it anyway. Frisk had restarted over and over, killing and killing. Even when Sans had tried to stop them, they came back no matter how many times they died. He shakes as he sees their blood on his hands, and laughs when he recounts how they restart to try again, even when they manage to dust him. Times he manages to kill them, and times when he misses them completely. 

He was the judge, he tells you. He judged them for every kill that they made and every life that they spared. He only ever tried to kill Frisk when they hit LV19. Because he had to. That was his job as tasked by Asgore, the king. And he did that job even when he knew it was pointless to do so.

He laughs again when he tells you about the timelines in which he befriends Frisk. In hopes that Frisk spares everyone this time. But he can't even do that when they dust papyrus. 

He says that Frisk eventually ended their time underground with their current pacifist run. And that even on the surface, he had nightmares almost every night due to his fear of a reset and suddenly waking up underground again.

How despite that, that he had **asked** Frisk for a reset when you disappeared into the void, but they couldn't. Ah, so that's what he meant when he said they couldn't load a save. 

You hug him for the longest time. He told you that he was the judge underground, and you feel as if he's now asking you to judge him. But you refuse.

"I can't judge you, Sans. And I won't." He looks down at the bedsheets, unwilling to meet your eyes.

"I won't say you're all good or all bad, or that what you did was all right or all wrong or justified. I can't because I don't know." You pause before you continue. 

"All I see here is a skellyman who only ever tried his best given the shitty cards life had dealt him. Sometimes you fucked up, sometimes you made bad decisions, sometimes you made good ones, or sometimes you could only just make the best decision that you could have possibly made, given what you knew and felt at the time. But it's okay to fuck up. It doesn't **make** you a fuck up." 

"...We killed children, you know." He says.

"What?" 

"Six children. The ones who fell underground. Some innocent, some less. But children who died for our freedom all the same. We needed seven souls, and Frisk was the seventh. Of the children, some I killed myself and some I just took to Asgore during my time as a sentry. I have the blood of fucking children on my hands." 

Sans has laid bare everything he has ever done. He's an empty shell as he waits for this to spur your kind soul to action, to spit on him like the accursed sinner he was and leave him to rot and die of heartbreak.

And then you would undeniably suffer from guilt as he did just that. He was an idiot. An idiot for bonding with you before you actually knew him for who he was. Just another sin to add to his already damned list.

You knew about the war. Not about the children, but definitely about how humans had chased the monsters underground and created the barrier. 

"I'm not an idiot, Sans. Fuck you if you think I am." You're angry, but not at him. Regardless, you take it out on him anyway. 

"Who do you think I am? Some innocent princess fairy who thinks the world is made of sunshine and rainbows where people live in goddamned harmony and that people are either all good or all bad? You think I think the humans who stuffed the monsters underground and made the lives of seven humans the **requirement** to open the barrier are any better than the monsters who had to kill the humans to break it? How do you think the humans even made the barrier in the first place? Or how many lives were sacrificed in their experimentations?"

"Debs i-" 

"I'm not done-" you cut him off. "Do you think that just because I'm kind to you and Paps and my friends that I would be kind to everybody else? Sure, I have no LV. Only because that shit is fucking **illegal** or I would have killed my adopted family a million and one times over. Sure, I can say the lives of seven humans were a necessary evil as the result of a war that nobody wanted to happen. But if the tables were turned and your life was one of those taken to release humankind, you can bet your nonexistent kidney that I would fucking annihilate the one who killed you." You turn to glare at him.

"I told you I won't judge you because I can't. Yes you killed children, yes you watched Paps die, yes you befriended the murderer who killed all your friends, yes you fucked up, yes you tried to make it right and yes you also asked for the reset that you hate down to the very core of your bones. But so what? So what if your entire life was a steamrolled piece of shit paved road that you had to walk on? Be better. Live better. Stop using your past as an excuse for your present, stop pretending that everything good you've ever done doesn't count because you've been bad, and stop looking like you want to kill yourself because just because I don't have a monster marriage that will kill me doesn't mean I can't still fucking die of heartbreak if you leave." 

You burst into tears and Sans has to be the one to comfort you. You push him away at first, then when he actually lets you go, you go to hug him, cussing him out for being an idiot. 


	19. Dig a little deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: mentions of self harm, suicide, cutting, food restriction, panic attacks, abuse, neglect, bad vibes overall.
> 
> DO NOT read if any of this triggers you.
> 
> Some mentions of smut.

You and Sans end up lying next to each other.

He hadn't just magically learned to forgive himself or move on just yet, but you were right. He was using his past as an excuse. He had assumed that feeling guilty and broken was what he deserved. But maybe… he could really try to be better. Now, more than Papyrus, he had someone else to live for. He had to live for you. 

"Sorry, Pudding." Your voice brings Sans back to the present.

"Me too, Love." He traces light circles on your arm as he looks at you more closely than he did last night, appreciating every part of you.

As you blush under his close gaze, he notices some raised white lines on your right thigh. Then he notices you have some on your left thigh as well.

"What are those?" He asks as he runs his fingers over them. They look too straight and intentional to be natural.

Uh…… you didn't really want to tell Sans what they were because you had just had such a heavy conversation AND you had just chastised him for looking like he was gonna kill himself. How were you going to tell him that you actually tried?

Sure, he'd probably understand, but you still feel like you don't want to bring the mood any lower. 

"I'll tell you if you really want to know, but it'll really ruin the mood." You say lightly. It didn't seem right to keep a secret when he was so open with you just moments ago.

"Tell me… please?" He asks gently.

Sigh. Here you go. 

"You can't get mad at me." You say although you know that's not fair because if he were the one, you would be so super mad at him.

"No way. Sounds dangerous. I can already tell I'm going to be mad." Damn, why did your Pudding have to be so smart?

"If you don't agree, I'm still going to tell you, but completely in Chinese. 你可不要逼我。 我的华语是不错的呀。" You threaten him childishly.

"What the- how do you know Chinese?" 

"If you wanna know that instead, I can tell you." You wiggle your eyebrows.

"Nice try." He tickles you playfully, then pulls you into a hug. "But now I know it's something serious."

He pauses and waits for you to tell him, but he doesn't push again. Ugh fine. He knows how you work.

"Sigh, they're scars." You explain. 

"From?" He stiffens.

"Myself." You say. "It's something I don't do anymore, of course. But yeah, I hurt myself intentionally…" You pause to wait for Sans' reaction. 

When he doesn't say anything, you continue talking, "I told you that my adopted family was shit, right? Well, I guess I can start from the beginning." 

You stop to collect your thoughts.

"Well, I was adopted as a baby. I heard that my grandmother was the one who adopted me, but nobody knows much else about that.” You shrug. 

“My grandfather was the one I spent relatively more time with. He was a hard old man but he loved his wife. When she passed away, he treated me well because I was like his last connection to her… uh whenever he was around, anyway. So my life was pretty great till he died too. And when he did, can you believe the old man actually willed the entire corporation to me? When I was like, ten or eleven years old?" 

You laugh humorlessly. 

"It was more of a jab to the entire extended family, really. During his last days, he could tell that all of his children were just waiting for him to die. None of them gave a shit about him. They just wanted to see who would get what percentage of the company. His money, property, shares and stuff. I was just a pawn he used in the entire family drama. A giant middle finger to his money-hungry children.”

You turn to look at Sans, and he just nods for you to carry on. 

“The entire family was furious, of course, when they found out that I was declared the eventual CEO of the Stourton Family Corporations. My grandpa's eldest son took custody of me in hopes that he could get his hands on the fortune, but lawyers found that my grandfather made it such that I could never give the company away until I was a legal adult. And he’d gone through great pains to make sure it couldn’t be reversed by any of his children." 

You take a deep breath and swallow before you continue.

"Frustrated that they couldn't get what they wanted, everyone started treating me like shit. They'd always tell me things like how I was a waste of space. A piece of trash picked up from the side of the road... An ungrateful brat who didn't understand hard work or what it meant to be a human… a freak of nature, y'know things like that. I'm just glad they didn't try to kill me and make it look like an accident!" When you hear Sans' growl, you clear your throat.

You decide not to tell him that the only reason they didn't do it was because if you died before reaching adulthood or before deciding what to do with the company, the whole company would be dissolved and all proceeds would go to paying off the compensation of all the laid off workers. That was an old man who died with a vengeance.

"Anyway, all was not lost. I had Ashley!" 

You smile at the thought of Ashley.

"She's actually from one of the more influential families. Bet you couldn't tell! We used to play together before the shit show went down, and she never stopped coming over to visit me. And because her family was an important business partner, my adopted family could never do anything to her. They couldn't even stop her, HA! Did that feel good. Ash really did whatever she could to keep me sane. She's real great you know?" 

You hesitate, getting to the hard part. 

"But uh, Ash she... she had to go away for a while. A long while. She had to go overseas for her studies. It couldn't be helped. Her parents insisted that she had to learn about the foreign markets and make connections, and I couldn't let her ruin her relationship with her parents or her future for me… but ah. Those times were tough. Not long after she left, I withdrew from everyone and everything. 

That's when I joined the gang. I turned self destructive, reactive. That's also when the panic attacks started. It's like the only emotion I knew was anger. I also stopped eating. Every time I was hurt by someone, I'd go on to hurt myself. Penknives, scissors, stapler bullets, anything. Anything that I could get my hands on, I did. It wasn't because I needed some semblance of control where I could at least dictate how much I hurt or anything fancy like what you see on Tumblr."

You grip Kiwi a little tighter.

"I was taught to hate myself, and I did. I felt like a mistake, and every cut and didn't matter in the mess that was my entire life anyway." 

You look at your legs and run your fingers gently along the scars.

"I started cutting my thighs so nobody would see. On the outside, I acted like I didn't care, but then I would hide in my room after every fight to do it. It was pretty messed up I guess. I thought of many ways of just killing myself and ending it all. I researched it and everything. Wanted to do it right the first time. One day, sitting in the bathtub, I almost did. But then kiwi stopped me at the first incision." 

You lift your right hand to show him the tiny vertical scar. 

"That was the first time Kiwi ever showed any signs of sentience. And I was so shocked that I didn't continue trying. I never tried again after that either! Instead, I realised how stupid I was and focused instead on developing the magic I had so accursed. Eventually, Ash came back and went BANANAS." You wiggle your fingers in the air for dramatic effect.

"She helped me to move out and start new. I'm still here living and breathing because of Ashley and Kiwi." You stand Kiwi up on her back paws and play with her front two.

Sans turns you around to face him and squishes your cheeks.

“Wha-” 

You want to ask what he’s doing, but you stop when you see the pained look on his face.

There’s silence for a long moment before he finally lets go of your cheeks. 

You stay silent, not sure of what you should say.

Sans touches the scar on your right arm before his hands move down to your thighs as he traces every line with his fingertips.

A long moment passes before he finally speaks. 

“You said that you don’t do it anymore.” He looks into your eyes.

“Mmhmm, yeah.” You subconsciously rub your scars.

“Promise me.” His voice is low. You can sense his waves of desperation.

“I-”

Sans cuts you off.

“I mean it. You have to promise me that you’ll never try to kill yourself again. Never.” Blue tears are forming at the edge of his eyes, and you feel guilty for hurting your favourite skeleton.

“I promise.” You smile, “Aren’t we a team now? I’ll never abandon you.” 

You move to sit in between his legs as you hug him, pressing your body as close to him as you possibly can.

“I can’t lose you.” He whispers as he hugs you back.

“You never will. I’m OP now, remember? And I have you to protect me.” 

You let your hand fall as you trace the edges of his spine with your fingers, moving to his ribcage as you run your fingers along the inside of his bones, teasing a growl out of him.

The sex this time is rougher, desperate, as you let Sans take the lead.

-

Sans felt so incredibly protective.

He was infuriated at the ones who dared to hurt you so badly that you felt like there was no better escape than death. He also felt despair knowing that if Kiwi did not save you, you would not be here in his life today. 

How could your own family treat you his way? It was no wonder Ashley was so protective of you. She was there through it all. 

He understood now why your soul had cracks in so many places. Why you always laughed your problems away. In a way, you were like him. You both used humor as a coping mechanism. But where he ran away from problems, you always faced them head on. 

He can't believe you had tried to kill yourself. How did you pick yourself after that to become the ridiculously optimistic person you are today? How were you still so kind?

He hopes he never has to meet your adopted family.

He doesn't know if he can hold himself back. 

He needs you so badly as the knowledge that he could have lost you almost overwhelms him. 

-

He eventually checks the time and realises he has a class in 2 hours.

"Hey, Love?" He shakes you awake gently.

"Mmm?" You rub your eyes sleepily.

"Want to come to the university with me?" 

Oh yeah, he has classes to teach today. You wonder if you have any deliveries to make, and realise that you don't.

"Mmkay." You agree. Hoping you don't have any forgotten orders this time. "Can you teleport me home, first? So I can get some clothes."

He realises how reluctant he is to let you go, and is glad that you'll be coming to the university with him at least. Shit. The bond would take some getting used to.

When he teleports you back to the living room, you tell him to come get you in an hour. As you walk upstairs to your room, you're wondering why you didn't just ask him to teleport you straight there, when you bump into Ashley. Or rather, you find her lying on your bed, reading a book while waiting for you.

"So you didn't come back last night after your date with Sans." She says while reading, then she glances over to you. "And you're wearing his shirt… no pants I see. So that's his type. Hmm… as expected." She nods and turns back to reading.

"Ash!" You're covering your face with your hands while you blush.

"Oh yeah, what are you doing in my room?" 

"Waiting for you, of course! I texted your bone boy last night and he told me you stayed over." She closes her book and sits up. "So! How did it feel to literally bone a skeleton?" She raises her eyebrows playfully as your face mimics a tomato. 

You lie on the floor in embarrassment as you roll around, letting your excess energy out of your system. 

Used to your crazy antics, Ashley simply waits for you to eventually run out of energy. 

When you finally do, you starfish on the floor and say, "It just sorta happened… and at first I was like WOW ALL DAT TENSION and then I was like WHY AM I WAITING and then I just WENT FOR IT. Y'know??"

"So you're the one who attacked Sans?" She laughs. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey it wasn't an attack! He wanted it too but he was holding back! And that was so sweet." You pout in mock offense at her clearly inaccurate speculation. 

"Of course he wanted it. Everyone with eyes could see that." She laughs, "But I am surprised that you let him. Or made the move, Miss not-so-virgin-anymore." 

"Nooooooooooo." You can't hold up under Ashley's teasing. 

Oh yeah, you should tell her about the monster marriage!

"So Sans and I are married now!" 

"Married?" Her jaw drops.

"Yeah, monster married!" 

"... Whats monster married?" 

"Yknow, like a forever thing. Because I love him." 

You have to go off to get changed because Sans will be back soon to get you so you try to end the conversation, but Ashley literally pounces on you and demands that you tell her everything before you can go.

"Okay, okay! I surrender!" You cry as she almost tickles you to death. You tell her everything about the bond and its implications, but as you reach the part about where you'll live for four to five hundred years, you suddenly realise something. 

"OH MY GOD, ASHLEY. WE HAVE TO FIND YOU A MONSTER BOYFRIEND TOO!!" 

"What? Why?" She furrows her brows in confusion.

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE BEFORE ME." Your life isn't complete without your bff! 

"Jokes on you, I already have a monster boyfriend." She grins.

"WHAT?!" You're absolutely floored. When did this happen? You'd never even heard about him before! Granted you were really busy with your Pudding recently but still! You feel so betrayed as you look at her with puppy eyes, tearing from the abandonment. 

How could your best friend of forever do something so cruel like get a boyfriend without telling you?

"Okay, okay don't look at me like that. I'll introduce you sometime." She ruffles your hair. 

"Are you monster married too?" You need to know!

"What? The soul bond? No way! Not yet, anyway. We only started seeing each other recently. But that sounds cool. Maybe I'll ask him to tell me more about it." 

"Isn't it??" You beam at her. But suddenly, your face falls into a sad pout.

Unable to keep up with your change in emotions, Ashley pokes your cheek in frustration. "What is it now?" 

"Sorry I haven't been around lately…" What kind of best friend were you if you weren't around for something as monumental as Ashley's new boyfriend?

"Don't be silly. We're all adults here. If I wanted to tell you something, couldn't I just let you know? Wouldn't you make time for me?" 

You nod your head furiously. Of course you would! 

"That's that then." She stretches her legs out on the floor. 

"...Hey, Ash?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I love you."

"I love you too." She kisses you on the cheek.

"No like, I REALLY love you." You need to let her know how much you love your bff.

"I know, I really love you too." 

She holds your hand as you beam at her, trying to send your emotions across to make sure she gets it.

"Make sure Sans takes care of you." She smiles at you, and your heart feels warm as you giggle in reply. It's like Ashley is your mother sometimes with the way she always looks out for you. 

"Okay I'm going off, I have a date today." She stands up and is ready to leave.

"Awwwwww but when can I meet him? Let's have a double date!" You say as you wave your hands up in the air.

"How about next month? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"DEAL!"

Ashley chuckles as she leaves your room.

You lie on the floor, deep in thought, wondering who Ashley's boyfriend is, as you hear Sans' voice coming from beside you.

"You don't look ready to go." Sans snickers as he wonders what you're doing on the floor.

"Oh shit! Give me fifteen minutes!" You jump up and grab some clothes and fresh underwear. You're in and out of the shower in ten minutes with dripping wet hair but ready to go. 

With a roll of his eyes, Sans helps you to towel your hair dry before he teleports you both to the university. He decides he prefers it when you smell like strawberries. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to write fluff guys, trust me. But I had to get these out of the way for character and plot development. 
> 
> Please let me know if you see any plot holes. I rewrote this like twenty times and my eyes are spinning.


	20. Smarter than you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff fluff

You’re sitting somewhere in the middle of the lecture theatre listening to sans give a lecture on Quantum Physics, completely enamoured by how intelligent and professional he sounds. It was so intelligent that he probably had a specific topic he was focusing on but you didn't have enough brain power to remember what it was. Whenever he glances in your direction, you want to coo and send him heart shapes with your hands, but settle for looking at him with unadulterated awe the entire time instead.

And when he answers a particularly difficult question (although all the questions were difficult to you) with an even more profound answer, you almost jump up on your desk and cheer for your favourite skeleton. You’re looking at Sans with so much love and adoration that your eyes would be literal stars if you could make them. 

-

Sans is having a particularly difficult time teaching in class today. 

Aside from the lovestruck looks that you keep sending his way, he can’t help but notice the eyes of all the boys in the classroom darting your direction every few seconds. When one of the more daring boys tries to show off in front of you by asking an extremely complex question about his lecture and posing his own alternative perspective, he immediately shuts him down by tearing his hypothesis apart and throwing in a few more actually-really-top-secret bits of information from his co-experimentations with Alphys. He almost regrets his childish battle with the student, but his ego is satisfied when you actually stand up to applaud for him. He has to cough to hide his smile. 

When Sans finishes the lecture, he's about to walk over to you when he’s caught by the students who come to the front of the room to ask him for elaborations on his point on the internal-conversion-based solid-state nuclear clock. He struggles to answer them properly when he sees the group of boys huddling at your desk, but his scientific integrity and whatever semblance of professionalism he has left keeps him grounded and focused. 

-

You find it so amazing that your lazybones... boyfriend? Husband? Ah, you’ll just keep calling him your pudding. 

You find it so amazing that your lazybones pudding was a professor who taught Quantum Physics at the university level. As you’re gazing at him with a hand rested on your cheek, a figure blocks your perfect view of Sans. 

“Hi there.” The voice greets you.

You look up to see the guy who asked Sans that hard question from before. 

“Hello! I’m Debs!” You introduce yourself cheerily. This guy was smart too! Your Pudding must be the best teacher in the world.

“Are you new around here? We’ve never seen you before.” One of the other guys asks you.

Before you can answer, the first guy speaks again. “I’m Andy, this is Kenneth… and this is Max.” He introduces the both of them, including one of the many people just hanging around in the background.

“You can call me Ken for short.” The one named Kenneth adds on.

“Cool! Andy, Ken and Max. Got it!” You smile and wave to them, thrilled for the opportunity to talk to people your own age.

“I’m not exactly from here. I’m just visiting a friend.” you explain. You still don't know how to refer to Sans now.

"Ah, it's no wonder." The guy named Andy says, "We would have noticed you in our class." You notice that he has a rather charming grin. It's similar to your old buddy Mark, from Aces.

"Is it because of my rabbit?" You reach up to pet Kiwi.

"Eh, yes and no." He actually blushes, "but there aren't many girls in this class either." 

"Oh yeah I realised." You look around, "Why are there so few students in this class? Is it because the students are scared of Sans?" 

"You mean the Prof?" You nod.

"Ah, no this is just the advanced class. You have to do pretty well to take this class. It's really hard, but the Prof is the best." 

Your eyes sparkle when you hear him praise Sans, you knew he was a genius! 

On the other hand, poor Andy assumed that your eyes were sparkling because you were impressed that they were smart enough to take this class, which gave him a confidence boost.

"Hey, we're actually going for dinner." He shrugs his backpack on his shoulder, "Do you want to come with?" 

Sans happens to walk up to your group as Andy invites you for dinner. Sans puts an arm around your shoulder, as you greet him happily, "Hey pudding! They're going for dinner! Can we go with them?" 

"Okay, Love." Sans replies, "If you want to."

"Uh actually…" Ken puts a hand on Andy's shoulder as Andy is about to speak, "Andy forgot that we have a project meeting to attend. We'll hang out next time!" 

"Awwwwww." You really wanted to hang out with them, "Okay then." You pout as you wave goodbye. 

You turn back to Sans, "Hey! What happened your eyelights?"

They flicker back on again. 

"I have no idea what you mean." He says, as he nuzzles your forehead.

You narrow your eyes at him in suspicion.

"Are you the reason why I don't get to eat dinner with new friends?" 

"No…" His eyelights dart around nervously.

You hold up your cell phone, "If you don't admit it, I'm going to call Mark and ask him for dinner." You had a good feeling that you had another case of jelly skelly.

"Hey!" You cry out when your cell phone disappears from your hand and ends up in Sans'. When you try to grab it back from him, you get wrapped up in a bear hug and teleported into his office.

"Cheater." You huff. He knew you loved teleportation. 

He manages a grin at you. 

You walk around his office table and plop yourself into his squishy office chair. Spinning around in it again, you notice a jar of familiar strawberry candy sitting on his desk. You have to fight a smile when you don't remember seeing it there the last time you came.

You toss a glance over to the corner containing the trash tornado, and notice it still has some crumpled bits of paper floating in it. When Sans sees you looking, he points at you. 

"Don't even think about it. There's no candy in there this time.”

You stick your tongue out sheepishly as you take the strawberry candy from the jar on his office table. 

Popping it into your mouth, you decide to forgive your favourite possessive skeleton who was always so bad at expressing himself with words. Not before you take a rubber band from his table and shoot the sweet wrapper in his face, though.

“What? Not going to cry and sob over how much you love the wrapper this time?” Sans teases you, grateful that that you’ve forgiven his petty little jealousy stint.

“I did no such thing!” You take out your shoe and toss it at him in mock anger.

“Hey!” He says as he dodges your flying shoe and prepares to dodge the other one as you stand on his squishy chair, tossing it in your hand.

"Love, you're 23." Sans has his eye trained on the shoe in your hand as he tries to avoid your aim.

"You're right." You summon your magic and turn the shoe in your hand into a plate of whipped cream instead. 

The smile falls from his face as he teleports away.

"Hey! You cheater!" You cry out in righteous indignation as you hop off his chair. You turn around when you see him from the corner of your eye but you're too late as he takes your hand and uses it to smash the plate of whipped cream into your own face. 

"Looks like you just got _creamed_." He bursts out laughing at your shocked expression, and laughs harder when you lick the whipped cream off your lips.

You silence his laughter by rubbing your whipped-cream-covered face all over his.

"Guess you're pretty _whipped_ yourself." 

You lick some whipped cream off his cheek and you both burst out laughing at the mess. There are also blobs of whipped cream splattered around his office as you mutter a "oopsie" and grab some tissues to help him wipe it off. You don't have to wipe Kiwi as she's licking it off on her own.

As you're standing there in your ankle socks, you suddenly remember that they're skeleton underwear, so you point to them and say "Hey! Isn't this right up your alley?" As you wink at him.

He turns to look at you before he sees where you're pointing at and ends up blushing a furious navy blue. You can feel him battling his sudden wave of lust as you giggle. 

"What kinda reaction is that? You didn't even react that way to my pretty blue underwear." You love observing his reactions because he's not normally that expressive.

"That's cos uh…" He pinches the space between his eyesockets as you prod him with your socked toe, "Preference I guess." He swallows.

"Well… as much as I would love to get 'dressed', I kind of lost my shoe." You say, pointing to the whipped cream disaster. 

"What? You can't change it back?" He has that smarty-pants look in his eye again as he takes in this new information.

"Considering I rubbed some of it into the carpet, uh… I don't think so." You giggle, amused that you're just standing around dressed in something totally normal to you but simultaneously so kinky to Sans. 

You're really tempted to tease him, but your cute navy blue pudding already looks like he's going to spontaneously combust. Deciding to grant him mercy, you just reach down and take off your socks. You note for future reference that he might like these fuzzy socks in particular.

"Better?" You grin.

"Yeah." 

"Can we go for dinner now?" You ask as your stomach rumbles.

"What? Without shoes?" Sans looks at you, confused. 

"I have one side of it! I'll just hop around. You can teleport us to Grillby's and I'll just hop into a booth." You demonstrate with a few hops. "You can just teleport us back after dinner! My bike's at your place anyway." You offer.

"You're that hungry, huh?" Sans laughs. You don't even want him to go back to your place to help you grab some shoes.

"STARVING. Now less talk and more teleport!" You put one side of your sock and shoe back on as Sans grabs you in a bear hug and teleports away to Grillby's. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff is always more fun to write


	21. Whatsup Dadster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damnit Ashley!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge shout-out to BlueBerrySora, Arise_Griffinth & Commana for being with me from the very beginning and the reason i wrote beyond a chapter 3.
> 
> Shout-outs also to H0RR0RB0UND, Tea_Cup, xXSystemGlitchXx, DotTheMagpie & watergoddesskasey for your encouraging comments! 
> 
> You guys are the reason I haven't abandoned this yet. (^A^)7

When you're blipped into Grillby's, you hop into the booth and wait for Sans as he goes to order the food. You remind Sans that you're supposed to pay for it, but he laughs it off and just ruffles your hair. 

You look around Grillby's and notice a few dogs playing cards in the corner. Awwww you wanted to pet them. Especially the fluffy white one! Was that a Pomeranian? It was such a big one! 

You look over to the counter and… is that Ashley sitting there?

"Ash?!"

You hop out of the booth and over to her as she watches you with a quizzical expression.

"Debs? Where's your shoe?" She isn't that surprised to see you here, but your unadorned leg does confuse her. 

"I turned it into whipped cream!" 

"... Okay." Ashley doesn't want to know.

"So what are you doing here!" You plop into the seat beside her as Grillby comes up to take her order.

"Oh well, it's as good a time as any." She says as she points to you, "Hey babe, this is the best friend I've been telling you about." 

Then, she turns to you. "I'm dating Grillby." 

"WHAT?!" You look between Grillby and Ashley with the most incredulous expression before you remember that he's totally her type, so you just end up nodding knowingly.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Debs. Ashley has told me much about you and I do recall seeing you in here often." His voice is low and full, much like you would have expected it to be.

Before you can greet him back, Sans walks over.

"Hey Ash, Hey Grillbz." 

"Pudding! Ash is dating Grillby!" You turn to Sans, but then you remember that you haven't greeted Grillby yet so you turn back to him, "Hi Grillby!" 

Grillby chuckles lowly, "You are as I imagined." 

He doesn't smile, or at least you don't know how to see it, but you sense his happiness along with tints of amusement.

"Congrats, Grillby my man." Sans nods to Grillby before turning back to you.

"Do you want to sit here or?"

You think for a moment before deciding not to. New couples needed space! 

"No no, I like the booth." You smile at Grillby before turning back to Ashley with the most solemn expression you can muster, "I need deets. Tonight!" 

She laughs as you get off the bar stool and hop back to your private booth.

-

"Debs has cast her gaze over to you once again." Grillby leans over the bar counter, amusement colouring his voice.

"I knoooooow." Ashley rolls her eyes. "I can feel it." 

You obediently sat in the booth with Sans to give Ashley space, but you couldn't help but peep over every few seconds to make sure that they were having a good time! 

"Will you not consider inviting her over to join you? Given my current circumstances, I am unable to provide you with as much company as I would like." 

"She's the one who hopped away on her own." Ashley smiles as she swirls her glass of whiskey. "She's considerate in her own way. She won't crash our date."

"Ah yes, what will you tell her when she speaks with you tonight?" 

"Eh…" 

Ashley wasn't really ready to talk to you about Grillby because she wasn't too sure how she felt either. Grillby had expressed interest, and Ashley had accepted because he was a damn fine monster. That was it.

"Hey, I have an idea, don't you have any strawberry flavoured monster alcohol?"

-

Sans glares daggers over at Ashley as you crawl into his lap and coo over how much you love your favourite skeleton.

Sans would love to march over to Ashley and ask her why the hell she had to make her problem, his problem. It was obvious that Ashley didn't want to talk about her relationship and a drunk Debs couldn't force her to talk about it. 

Groaning, Sans lifts you up in a princess carry and plans to teleport you home. "Let's take you back, Love.' 

"Back?"

"Yeah we gotta go back."

"Okay!" 

As Sans teleports the both of you, you activate your magic to try to help to bring him back. You knew where he wanted you to go! 

As Sans was taking his step through the void, you sensed the familiar tug and used your magic to follow it in.

The world does not get replaced with the familiar scene of his room.

-

Sans is almost panicking. Where the fuck where they?

He would be in a full blown panic by now if you weren't in his arms, swinging your legs, chirping, "We're back! We're back!" 

Sans wonders if you brought them to the void. If so, how were they going to get back? Kiwi was your connection the last time, but now your soul was completely here. This was a big problem. This was not the controlled environment that he had talked about when he said he wanted to experiment coming back here.

As these thoughts are spinning around his head, you notice his perplexed expression and ask, "Did I do bad?" 

You bite your lower lip as Sans' eyelights flicker back on and he nuzzles your forehead before releasing you from his arms.

"No, no. I'll figure it out." 

At the very least, the two of you are here together. 

He decides to loop an arm around your waist to make sure it stays that way. It was an infinite world and he didn't know what he would do if you got lost.

"Sans?" 

Sans spins around to see a scarred white face and a black coat. The creature has arms, and maybe legs hidden under that black coat? Was this the void monster you had told him about? How was that a black blob body? Was this his dad?

"...Dad?" 

Gaster nods. "I am different from what you remember. The fall has wounded me." 

Sans knows what he's talking about as he takes in the sight of Gaster. There's a long moment of silence before Sans speaks again.

"How have you been?"

"It has indeed been a trial. But that's enough catching up. You cannot stay here." His eyes flicker to you as you squirm out of Sans' grasp to roll and swim around in the air.

"The longer you stay here, the more your body acclimatises to the void and the harder it is to get back to your own timeline." 

"But how do we get back? Debs said that you told her to use her connection to Kiwi the last time." 

"It is simple, really. You normally pass through the void during your teleportations but cannot enter because you are not sensitive to its pull. It is a locked door to you, so to speak, but Debs is the key. Just try to teleport back to your timeline and get Debs to activate her magic. The moment those two coincide, you should be able to head back home." 

"Aren't there multiple timelines in here?" Sans recalls what you told him. "What if we teleport back into the wrong one?" 

Gaster shakes his head.

"It will not happen for you because this version of you has only ever been to one single timeline." 

"How do you know that?" 

"I've seen them." 

Hmm so you were right about him being able to see along the timelines. 

"Have you seen how we can get you out of here?" Sans tries to make the most of the situation.

"Yes, but I cannot say. The timeline is sensitive and it is easy to throw it off kilter. 

"Well how-" 

"You really cannot stay any longer. Debs has the blood of a time mage and will not be trapped here, but you will. Now go before it's too late... Wait." 

Gaster had seen the multiple timelines, and if this was the one in which you stayed beyond a certain conversation, it would be one in which Gaster would never be free. It was imperative that he make you go. However, in order to prevent any more accidents like this, Gaster places a hand on Sans' head.

"I have shared with you some information about this place. The next time you feel the pull here, you should be able to resist it. Debs shouldn't be able to pull you back in here against your will." 

Nodding gratefully, Sans turns around and goes to you, "Love, we gotta go. Can you summon your magic for me?" 

"No." You pout, unwilling to make him mad again.

"Please love, we really gotta go back home." 

You cross your arms and look away, sulking. He asked you to go 'back' that time too, but then his eyelights went out.

Sans turns around to face Gaster, "What now?" 

Gaster chuckles. This was a good timeline.

He floats in front of Sans and gestures to his pink slipper.

"May I?" 

Sans has a puzzled expression as he takes it off and gives it to Gaster, who comes in front of you.

"I did so enjoy your song from before. However, I believe that I would love it more if I knew what a taco was." 

What?! He didn't know what a taco was?? 

Your eyes open wide, filling with pity and determination to right this travesty.

You grab the slipper from his hand and will it to become a taco as Sans holds you in a bear hug and teleports away.

His son had really interesting taste in women.

-

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gathered my courage and made the decision to let my pastor down as I made a smut chapter based off chapter 17 which you can find [ here ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21752371) if that's what you're into.


	22. Pacifist run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another rescue operation

You wake up to find yourself sleeping on Sans' bed with a taco in your hand.

Did that come from Grillby's? Why didn't you eat it? 

Smells good, though.

Sans walks in to see you munching on the taco.

"After crying all night demanding that it belonged to Gaster, you sure ate it real quick."

"Gaster??" You look around you. Did Gaster get out of the void? How??

Oh wait, you kind of remember dragging Sans into the void. Oh my God. That strawberry drink was pure evil.

"Pudding! Your bed is covered in chicken chunks!" You suddenly realise that Sans had let you sleep in his bed while holding a taco and give him 400 boyfriend-husband points.

"Uh, come on." Sans gestures around the dump that is his room, "Are you really surprised?" 

You giggle as you hold out the half eaten taco, "Want some?" 

"No not really…" He shakes his head as he laughs, "But I do wanna _taco_ bout' it." 

You raise an eyebrow, "Talk about what?" 

Sans fills you in about his conversation with Gaster as you finish the rest of the taco.

"... So if Gaster won't tell us how to get him out, does that mean he might not tell us about my parents either?" You pout, that was the best lead you had.

"Sorry, Love. I don't know. We could try?" 

You cross your arms and think about it, but decide there's no rush… or need.

"Let's just focus on your dad." You smile, "There must be a reason my parents gave me up for adoption anyway. And they're super powerful mages too right? It shouldn't have been hard for them if they wanted to find me." 

Sans comes to you and pulls you into a hug, "I'm sure there's a good reason why."

You nod, hoping that he's right.

Suddenly, Sans' phone rings. 

"Knock knock."

"SANS. THERE IS NO TIME FOR YOUR TOMFOOLERY. FRISK IS MISSING." 

Sans' expression falls as he looks to you. You nod, telling him that you'll go with him. You could hear Papyrus loud and clear. 

"Got it, bro. We're on our way."

You furrow your eyebrows.

"Where do you think Frisk will be? I hope they're okay." Frisk was the first ambassador for the monsters, and many people who wanted to harm them came to mind- both individuals and corporations. 

As advanced as the world was, people always needed someone to hate. The monsters were an easy target. 

Sans teleports the both of you over to Toriel's house, where King Asgore, Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys are.

When Toriel bursts into tears, you notice that it is not King Asgore who goes to comfort her, but Sans.

Say no to jealousy, Debs! Stay strong! 

You walk over to King Asgore and introduce yourself.

"Greetings, King Asgore. I wish we could have met under more favourable circumstances." 

"Howdy, Debs. Please, call me Asgore." He tears his eyes away from Toriel as he looks towards you. "Yes… We are devastated to say the least." 

Undyne walks over with Alphys, "We'll get the FUCKERS who stole Frisk!!" 

"When did anyone last see them?"

"The t-teacher said that F-Frisk left school yesterday at 3pm." 

"What were they wearing?" 

"Toriel says they left home in a black shirt and blue jeans." Undyne replies you.

"Is there anything we can use to identify them?" You were going to have to call in a favour. Sigh, it was going to cost you.

"T-they were carrying F-Flowey!"

"Got it." 

You take out your phone and call Mark.

"Hey, Mark. I need help." 

"Debs? Sure, just say the word." 

You ask Mark if he can activate the gang to look for Frisk. You describe Frisk and what they're wearing as he promises to send out search parties. 

"Oh yes, they are holding a monster sunflower in a pot!" 

"A sunflower? Okay, that should be easy to identify. I'll keep you posted, dol- Debs." 

"Thanks Mark, I owe you." 

You cut the line and turn to Toriel. 

"I got some help looking for them."

Sans looks up at you, "Who'd you get?" 

"Mark." 

Sans' eyelights flicker out, but he doesn't say anything. He knows they need all the help they can get.

You stifle a smile, guess you weren't the only one feeling jealous today.

"Yup, he'll send out search parties. We should find them in no time." You turn to Sans.

"Can you get me to my bike? I want to look around as well." 

-

"I'll call you if I find anything." You say as you tuck kiwi into your jacket, put your helmet on and speed away.

While you're speeding around on your bike, you notice Mark riding beside you.

He gestures for you to stop at the side of the road and you do.

"We've covered these three areas." Mark says as he point to areas marked on his phone screen. "This is the only area left. We're working on that now. We've also been asking if any other gang has taken them. If they still aren't found by then, I don't know what else we can do." 

You nod gratefully, "Thanks, Mark. That's a hell lot more than I could've hoped for." 

He'd really pulled out all the stops to help you.

As Mark is about to reply, his phone vibrates. He flips it open, "We got em'." 

You text Sans the location before you and Mark ride there on your bikes. It was a familiar one. Someone saw Frisk get taken away by one of Black Spade's men. Apparently, they had gotten into a fight with a gang member and things had escalated. Shit. It complicated things if the Black Spades were the one you had to deal with. Again.

Oh well, like that famous guy once said. 'YOLO'. Carpe Diem and all that snaz.

-

Sans is already there when you and Mark ride in. He didn't arrive with the rest, so you figure he must have been looking around for Frisk outside.

"One of our guys scouted the area and received intel that Frisk is in there." Jacob comes up to tell you and Mark as he points to the Black Spade's base. He glares at it with hatred, recalling how they had trapped Kate in there once before.

"Got it." You call Sans over. "We'll barge right in once Undyne and Paps get here."

"Asgore is coming too." Sans points out.

"Okay, that should be easier. King looks like he can fight!" 

"Definitely. Asgore's the one who trained Undyne to be captain of the royal guard." 

Whoa. King can REALLY fight then.

"Do you need our help?" Mark offers.

You think about it, but decide that there's no need. It might even start a war between the two gangs and you're not about to drag them in for no reason. You already owed Aces enough for this. You're still grateful that Mark offered, though. Especially since he should know the ramifications of his support.

"No need, we'll take it from here. You should go before they notice you." You give him a fist bump as he leaves with his men.

"Hope Kate's doing well!" You call to Jacob.

"The baby's out next month. We'll send you pictures!" Jacob turns back with a huge grin.

You look at Sans and realise his expression seems a little bit off. You try to attune to his emotions and sense a very slight tint of jealousy, but that's not the reason for it. 

Anger. Frustration. Fear.

Fear? This kind of rescue operation was nothing. It's not like you guys had never done it before for Kate. This time, you even had Undyne, Papyrus and Asgore. So what was the reason for his fear?

You touch his face and his eyelights flicker to you.

"You doing okay there, Pudding?" 

Sans notices the worry on your face and doesn't hide it from you. "It's about Frisk." 

Ah. Frisk who murdered everyone, himself included, over and over again in cold blood. Yet because this was a pacifist run, everybody was their friend and now coming to rescue them. Which wasn't a huge problem, unless...

"Does everyone else know? About the resets and genocide runs?" 

He shakes his head. 

"That's just one of the reasons. Another reason is that I might hate them." 

"Might?" 

"Yeah. I haven't decided." 

What? If you were in Sans' shoes, there would be no indecisiveness. You were honestly really mad that they had killed your Pudding not just once, but over and over too. But they were a child. Maybe they were just scared.

It takes maturity to wield power like that.

Undyne, Asgore and Papyrus come running in.

Sans nuzzles your forehead, "I'll be fine. Even if I decide that I hate the kid, I'd still do it for the family." 

Ah, your pudding was such a kind soul. T^T

You turn to the trio.

"Frisk's inside. Here's the plan." 

  
  
  



	23. No Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's save the kid! Peek into the plot.

"Okay." You gather everyone together in a circle and whisper your extremely well thought out plan. After all, you used to be the right hand man… woman of the largest gang in the country. Missions like these were a piece of cake.

"We're gonna get Sans to sneak us in, then we gotta put these masks on so nobody knows who we are." You instruct them, holding out surgical face masks.

"What? HOW'S THAT GOING TO HELP?!" Undyne grabs the mask with incredulity.

You take a look at your team- a giant goat man, an almost-equally-as-giant fish lady with scarlet hair, 2 skeleton monsters… 

You nod your head, understanding her point of view. But obviously, you have a solution.

You change them into ski masks.

"..."

"NGAHHH!! FUCK the plan!" 

Undyne charges into the base after releasing a barrage of glowing blue spears, destroying half the building.

"Okay new plan. Just don't die." You take off after Undyne but Sans teleports to you and grabs you in a bear hug before teleporting inside the base.

The inside of the building is chaos as Undyne's blue spears have caused rooms to cave in and debris is everywhere. Five guys surround Undyne, unable to move as they try to dodge the onslaught of her spears. 

Whoa did that spear just change direction? 

Asgore was initially blasting hardcore flames of fire. However, when they started screaming, he switched to beating them up with his trident instead. Awww what a softie. 

No wonder Sans called him Fluffybuns.

You watch as people are sent flying by waves of bones sticking out from the ground, and stand in awe at how cool Papyrus' attack patterns are. And they're pretty too! 

"Hey, how come some of the bones are blue?"

"Watch." Sans breaks one of the blue bones nearby.

"Hold still." He swings the bone shard towards your arm… and it goes right through. Cooooooool.

"What are you STANDING AROUND for, NERDS?!" A voice snaps you out of your stupor.

"Oh yeah! We gotta find Frisk!" 

You were so distracted by how damn OP everyone was that you forgot what you came here for.

You run up the staircase as Sans teleports to various rooms. When you're on the second level, you hear a voice.

"Yeah? Well, fuck you!" You hear the voice of a child coming from inside a room. Were there other children in here? What, were they dabbling in child trafficking? 

You hear the sound of someone cocking a gun. 

You look in to see the guy aiming the gun at Frisk's leg.

You summon your magic, ready to act.

"Chill man, she's just a kid."

One of the other members says apathetically.

"Yeah, Loser. You just got your ass kicked by a kid. Why so blue?"

Was that… Frisk? Weren't they mute?

The guy takes aim at Frisk's leg once again as you immediately turn his gun into a pool noodle and he crashes into the floor. Seconds later, his companion is thrown against the wall and both are knocked out cold.

You turn around to see your favourite skeleton! And he's even wearing the ski mask you made. You try to send him all the love in your heart. He was the only one who would always support you!

"...Sans? Debs?" Frisk looks at the both of you with surprise.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen you wearing, you smiley trashbag." 

Irked that someone was so rude towards Sans, you turn around to see the Flowey glowering inside a container with some holes poked at the top.

You turn back to see Sans take off the ski mask. His eyelights are out and his expression is stiff as he looks at Frisk. That doesn't look like the expression of someone who hasn't decided if they hate someone or not. That looks like someone ready to blast them sixteen million feet into space if the gaster blasters peeking out of the void were any indication. Did Frisk's eyes always have that red tint?

And Flowey. How DARE he insult your Pudding? 

You walk up with a sickly sweet smile.

"Hi there, I don't believe we've met." You cross your arms.

Flowey's evil grin disappears into a smile equally as plastic as your own.

"Howdy! I'm FLOWEY! FLOWEY the FLOWER!" 

"I'm Debs, and… what did you just call my boyfriend?" You place your hand on the table.

"Eew? What kind of fetish..." The smile falters a little, "What are you gonna do about it?" 

Summoning your magic power, you turn the table he's sitting on to ash.

You catch him just before he hits the floor.

"Oh dear, silly me." 

"You think you're really smart, don't you?" Flowey waves a leafy hand at the unconscious gangsters. "Your threats won't work on me, you idiot. Don't you know that in this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED?" 

You hum to yourself and sense his emotions. What you find surprises you enough that you forget your anger.

Oddly enough, although you can sense his rage and fear, it feels a little unusual. Empty. 

You pause, "Do you… not have a soul?" Your eyebrows furrow.

Flowey's smile completely falls and is replaced by the most malicious expression you've ever seen on a flower. Granted, you've never actually seen any flower with any sort of expression before Flowey, but still.

"Who told you?!" Flowey whips his head to glare at Frisk, who's apparently gone back to being mute as they wave their hands and shake their head furiously.

Flowey summons white pellets and flings them at the container, but the container doesn't budge and he's left fuming inside.

You turn inquisitively to Sans, but he just shrugs. His left eye is now glowing that awesome blue again.

"Let's just go." You say as you walk over to Frisk, whose arms are bound behind the chair.

Frisk has a black eye, some cuts and bruises along with some minor rope burns. Tsk. The bastards. At least the

Aces had a rule never to touch women and children.

You turn the rope to ash.

"Hey kid, let's go." 

You look up to see Sans looping an arm around Frisk to help them to stand, and notice that his expression has softened. Okay, you really needed to ask him about that once you got back.

"Should we just teleport back?" You turn to ask Sans.

"We gotta let the rest know we got Frisk." He shakes his head.

He does teleport you all to the main area where Undyne, Papyrus and Asgore are cleaning up the rest of the crew.

As you teleport in, you happen to land right beside Caleb. He almost drops his gun in shock.

"You again." He snarls.

"Me again." You shrug nonchalantly with Flowey in your hand as you secretly modify the contents of his gun.

"If you wanted to take the kid, why didn't you just? Why did you have to destroy my entire base?!" He snarls.

You want to retort, but you don't have a proper answer to that. You sneak a glance over to Undyne, but you're not guilty enough that you don't fight back.

"Why'd you take the kid in the first place then?!" You shout back. 

"Kid's the one who interfered with my guys' business." 

Frisk's eyes tint that unnatural red again as they call out, "They were hurting Monster Kid!" 

Their eyes just as quickly lose the red tint as they bite down on their tongue.

Schizo? No, it seemed to be more than that. 

"You heard the kid." You smirk. "You started it." 

You'd think about it later.

"Your uncle will hear of this." 

"That's what you said the last time. It's getting old, bro." You mock him.

He cocks his gun. Ha, loser.

"We got Frisk! Let's go!" You call out to Undyne, Papyrus and Asgore. They break away from their fights or knock out the remaining as they prepare for the escape.

Irritated at your blatant disregard of his presence, Caleb pulls his gun on Sans as a warning to you, but instead of firing bullets, it fires soap bubbles.

You're doubled over laughing when Sans teleports all of you back to Toriel's place. Even Frisk and Flowey don't bother to hide their amusement at Caleb's infuriated and shamed expression.

When you all blip into Toriel's living room, Undyne runs to the kitchen to retch in the sink while Asgore's just slightly green in the face. Paps is perfectly fine, though, so you figure it's all about getting used to it. Frisk and Flowey seem perfectly fine. Huh. 

Toriel already has Frisk in her arms, and is working some healing magic on them. You watch as the bruise literally fades in front of your eyes. Cool. You subconsciously wonder if they would work on your scars. Not that you minded them that terribly since they were like a medal you wore to remind yourself of how you survived. However, it always made Sans so sad when he saw them.

Oh well. Thoughts for another day. 

Toriel insists for everyone to rest and to stay over so she can take care of them. 

"Thanks, Toriel." You say with a giggle, remembering that it's no problem since Mark got one of his members to take your bike back to the Aces base for you. 

"Did you not want to call me Goat Mum?" She laughs, placing a huge paw on your head.

Stunned, you look up at her with wide eyes.

"Can I really?" 

She pauses, realising that this was something worth more to you than a mere nickname. 

Her grin is replaced by a motherly smile as she wraps you in the warmest hug. "Of course you can, my child." 

"...Thanks, Goat Mum." Your voice is barely a whisper as you hug her back with all the force you can muster. 

  
  



	24. Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little chat with Chara

You text Ashley to let her know that you'll be at Toriel's as you cuddle into bed beside Sans.

Goat Mum had like a million rooms, but you bunked with Sans, Undyne bunked with Alphys and Asgore chose to sleep on his own although Papyrus offered to room with him. 

Sans is replying to some texts from his students when you look over to see what he's doing.

"Didn't peg you as the kind that worked overtime." You giggle.

"Nah it's just a meme." He turns his phone to you to show u something about a cat. 

You notice that the sender's female and tap her profile pic to enlarge it and get a closer look. 

Was she pretty? She better not be pretty… damn! Even you'd tap that! 

"What? Are you jealous?" He snickers as he turns his phone off and pulls you into a hug. 

"Only because she's prettier than me!" You pretend to pout. You weren't really jealous… okay you were a little jealous! It was a new relationship, okay. You were allowed to be jealous! 

Sans laughs again at your candid reply. "Come on, Love, that’s impossible. Also, I've only got _eyes_ for you." 

"No you don't! You don't have eyes!" You giggle at his attempts to placate you as turn away from him in a pout. 

"That can't be right, cause I can't take em' off you." He pulls you into a hug as he nuzzles your forehead.

"You're so cheesy." You can't fight your smile as you stick out your tongue.

"I thought I was doing pretty _Gouda_." 

"I think you could do _grater_."

"Thanks for _brie-_ lieving in me. No wonder I'm so _fondue_ you." 

"Okay, okay! You win! I'm all out of cheese puns." You laugh as you turn to hug him back.

"Good, because those were my last ones." He nuzzles your cheek and moves down to your neck. 

"Hey… you wanna talk about today?" You say tentatively.

He stiffens before he rests his head back on your shoulder.

He sighs. "Okay but… not now. Maybe we can talk in the morning. Or back at my place." 

He's right, you guys had a long day. Patience was totally not a virtue you possessed… but you would try.

You hop out of bed to switch the light off as Sans flops down on the pillow. 

Crawling back in beside him, you hug him like a bolster as you rub your head on his chest. 

"Goodnight, Pudding" You mumble into his shirt. 

You're asleep before you can hear his reply.

-

You wake up to find yourself on the floor.

Sitting up groggily, you look around at the unfamiliar room. 

Oh yeah, you stayed over at Goat Mum's.

You're still in a daze when you suddenly hear Sans' snarl from downstairs. You immediately take off running to look for him, and are surprised to find him left eye flashing, posed to attack.

You look at his opponent and realise that it's Frisk, who's holding a knife. They look like they were chopping carrots. Well, his opponent could also be Flowey, who's placed on the table beside Frisk, looking sinister as ever.

"What's going on?" 

Frisk turns to you, but Sans' eyes are still focused on them. 

They wave to you.

Hmm... their eyes have that red tint again. 

"Good morning." You reply as you walk over and take your place beside Sans.

He’s still really tense, so you ask if he wants to go back to the room and relax.

“No way, I’m not leaving you here alone with those things.” 

You flinch at the anger in his voice.

“Pudding, I’ll be fine. Trust me.” You pause, thinking for a moment. “Do you want to take Kiwi with you?”  
After finding out that Kiwi was able to heal Sans’ HP, you often left Kiwi with him if you knew you were going to be indoors all day or if you weren’t really doing anything. She was a good comfort to him too.

“No way.” He can’t imagine leaving you more vulnerable in front of them.

Your lips flatten into a thin line, “Come on, we’re safe in Toriel’s house. Undyne, Asgore and Alphys are still sleeping upstairs too.” 

Sans appears to think it over before he deactivates his magic and goes upstairs.

During your little exchange, Frisk has gone back to chopping carrots and Flowey has reverted back to his original plastic smiling face.

“So…” You start.

They put down the knife and turn to you. Their eyes have lost their red tint.

“Do you want to talk about it?” You turn to lean on the sink, making sure not to cross your arms or appear guarded. 

They start by shaking their head, but then it slowly turns into a nod.

_Do you know sign language?_ They sign to you

 _Only the basics._ You sign back. You’d never bothered to pay attention when they’d forced it on you. For no reason in particular. Rebellion just worked like that.

_It’s fine. I can hear you perfectly well. Do you know that I’ve killed Sans before?_

Wow, they sure started off strong. 

“Yes, he’s told me.” You hold their gaze.

 _Do you know that he’s killed me?_

Their gaze holds no accusation. It seems as if they’re studying your reaction to see how much you know and how you feel about it.

_“I do.”_ You nod, dealing with it as a matter of fact. “I also know that you’re a time mage. Are you really?” 

They stiffen at that, and their eyes tint red.

They nod as they pick up their knife and start chopping the carrots again. 

“Are you... still Frisk?” You ask after a moment’s hesitation.

You noticed that they used their right hand to chop the carrots this time, although they were using their left before. Their mannerisms always seemed to change according to the red in their eyes, and it wasn’t only that. Their gaze would become sharper, as if it belonged to another person. One who had gone through too much for their age.

They immediately turn back to you.

 _What do you mean?_

“Can’t you talk when your eyes turn red?” You ask.

 _It’s my magic, it just gives me more confidence._ They lie.

“Does it also make you ambidextrous? Or are you just always?” It’s possible of course, but somehow you don’t buy it.

It seems like there’s a battle going on in their head before they speak again.

"... I don't agree, but Frisk wants to tell you." 

You wait patiently for them to continue.

"Hi, I'm Chara." 

Oh, what? You were actually right.

They tell you about how Frisk fell underground and Chara came to inhabit their consciousness. They tell you that Chara might have woken up due to Frisk's level of determination, coupled with the fact that they landed on Chara's grave, but they don't know for sure. 

"I'm the one who killed your boyfriend and anyone else underground." Chara says.

"Frisk started off by being nice to everybody, but every time they slipped up or lost control for a moment, I would take over." 

You study them, trying to search for any hint of remorse or guilt, but find none. Their expression is cold, hard.

"Why?" You can't understand.

"Because I could." They sneer.

You hear Flowey cackling from the table, enjoying the drama.

You're about to speak again when you hear the sounds of people waking up. 

"Let's go for breakfast." You say, as you pick Flowey up. "I'm starving." 

-

You're seated across each other in a booth at a breakfast shop. Flowey's on the table, in the middle of both of you. You order pancakes for all three of you even though Flowey says he won't eat it. Oh well, more for you, you figure. 

Neither of you have spoken a word since you left the house. 

It wasn't really intentional on your part, but you were just stewing in your own thoughts. 

It's Frisk… no, Chara who breaks the silence. 

"What are we doing here?"

Chara hasn't made a dent in their pancakes, but you're already halfway through your second piece.

"Eating pancakes?" You say while chewing your pancakes. "What? Do you want some chocolate sauce?" You wave the waiter over and ask for chocolate sauce.

"No, you idiot. That's not what I meant." They can't help the gleam in their eyes, though.

Sigh, you wonder what happened to the kid.

"So.. Frisk looks like 9 or 10. But how old are you?" Chara felt a lot older than Frisk.

"... 12. That's the age I died anyway. Counting the resets, who knows?" They pour the chocolate syrup over their pancakes and start eating. 

You look over to see Flowey trying to maintain a hard expression while sneaking glances at his chocolate chip pancakes. 

You giggle, thinking how this one must be a kid too.

"Come on, just eat it." You say in between bites.

"... I can't." He eventually spits out.

What? Monsters couldn't eat human food? But Sans had no issue! Was it because of his soul? But that didn't make sense.

"I don't have hands." Flowey rolls his eyes as he guesses your train of thought. 

"Oops, sorry." Chara puts their fork down as they help Flowey cut their pancakes into slices and alternate between feeding him and themselves.

When you're all done eating, you order a giant strawberry milkshake with marshmallows, sprinkles and a giant cookie on top. 

"Didn't you just eat a whole meal?!" Chara gasps in astonishment.

"I'm an adult." You retort, "And I have a separate stomach for dessert!" 

"What?!" It's Flowey's turn to be surprised. "Really?!" He's never heard of a human having more than one stomach before.

"No, you idiot. She's just trying to be funny." Chara rolls their eyes. "But anyway, counting the resets, I'm an adult too." They look at you with a firm gaze, as if they'd battle anyone who contested this statement to the death.

Laughing, you call for a menu and they end up ordering a cookies and cream milkshake with two extra servings of ice cream. "I'm eating for two." They defend themselves when you raise an eyebrow.

You get a plate of cookies for Flowey when he says he's not a fan of ice cream or milkshakes. 

Once you're all done with breakfast, you order some pancakes to go for the rest.

When you're almost home, Chara stops walking. 

You tilt your head and turn around to look at them quizzically. 

"Aren't you going to ask?" They try to say it nonchalantly, but their frustration is clear to you.

"About your mass murders underground?" You don't need to censor it. They know what they've done.

Their eyes cloud over. "So you do know." 

You nod, studying their gaze.

"What, and it doesn't bother you? I could kill you too if I wanted." They sneer. 

"Stop trying to tease a reaction out of me." You totally felt like raging at them! But you were an adult! You couldn't be goaded by a tiny infant child! 

"You probably can't kill me anyway. I'm pretty OP myself. Watch." You grin as you turn part of the ground into a giant metal cage and step inside. "Now you can't reach me!" 

Flowey tosses a white pellet at you for good measure as you duck. 

"Hey!" You glare at the snickering flower and turn the cage back into its original state of the floor.

You can't help but feel proud of yourself when you see Chara's childish look of amazement.

You move to sit down on the curb and pat the space beside you while looking at them.

They come to sit beside you by the side of the road.

"I don't know why you did what you did." You say, looking away from them and towards the road. "And even if you told me, I might never understand. But there must be a reason you AND Frisk ended it on a pacifist run." 

You turn to them and ruffle their hair. 

"And I want to believe in that good part of you." 

You could tell that the kid was just putting on a strong front. It was clear from the way they kept egging you on to condemn them, to get angry at them.

They messed up, and they knew it. Chara obviously felt guilty for it. Even if subconsciously, the very first thing they did was to absolve Frisk of the guilt. Speaking of Frisk, you wonder how Frisk feels about it all.

Oh well, you weren’t their mother. It wasn’t your job to fix them. You didn’t even know if something like that could be fixed. The traumas that came with it and things like that were way out of your league. Hell, you were still coming to terms with the fact that this kid was a 2-in-1.

But you still believed that there was good in everyone. That it was a choice one had to make intentionally. That they could choose to be good in spite of their circumstances. 

“That’s what Papyrus said too.” They whisper, fiddling with the grumpy Sunflower’s petals.

You’re not surprised. That was so Papyrus. 

You make no attempt to continue the conversation because for once, you have no idea what to say.

All of you sit there for a long while in silence. 

Frisk (you know it’s them because they lose the tint) occasionally looks as if they want to say something, but the red comes back and they don’t.

Eventually, you really need to pee. 

“Wanna go back?” You stand up and pat the dust off your pants.

“Okay.” They mumble as they slip their little hand into yours.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going away for a week, and also I have to catch up on work that I've been neglecting! ): 
> 
> See you guys soon


	25. Retaliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aww Mark's a cutie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I can't believe i have a thousand hits! Y'all are dope.

"I brought breakfast!" You shout out to nobody in particular as you enter the house. Frisk has already let go of your hand and you watch as they run over and plop themselves onto the sofa beside Papyrus.

Turning your gaze to the top of the stairs, you find Sans looking at you anxiously, eyelights darting up and down as if he’s scanning you and making sure you’re alright, but otherwise looks like he's calmed down. 

"WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST, HUMAN DEBS?" 

"Pancakes!" You reply to him with equal levels of excitement as you hand the bag over. "Almost as good as breakfast spaghetti." You tease with a grin as your friends come down the staircase and Asgore shoots you a grateful look.

As everyone heads to the kitchen, you use your head to gesture for Sans to come downstairs, and he does even though he doesn't really seem up to it. As he trudges down the staircase, you walk to the foot of it and open your arms as he comes in for a hug. 

As he rests his head on your shoulder, you whisper to ask if he's okay. 

He hesitates, but manages a stiff nod as you give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Hungry?” You pull away from him to ask.

“No, not really.” He shrugs and smiles weakly at you. “You alright if we head back?” 

You rub a hand on his cheek supportively as you hop into the kitchen to say goodbye.

“Sorry pals, I gotta run! I have some deliveries to make today.” 

Toriel walks up to you and wraps you in a hug.

“Thank you so much for helping to rescue Frisk. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Sure thing, Goat Mum.” You return the hug, “I’m just glad the kid is safe.” 

Frisk makes eye contact with you as you wink back. Giving Toriel a tight squeeze, you end the hug.

Asgore walks up to you next and places a hand on your shoulder.

“If you should ever need our help, please, do not hesitate to ask. If it is alright with you, I would like to invite you over for tea sometime.”

You look up at him and realise that the king of the monsters felt like he owed you a favour. That was really neat, even though you hope you’d never have to cash in on it. 

You grin at him and say gratefully, “Thanks Asgore, I would love to come over for tea.”

You and Sans say your goodbyes as he grabs you in a hug and teleports back to your place.

As Sans is about to teleport himself back home, you pull on to him and ask if he wants to talk about what happened.

You can see him struggle with himself for a while, but he finally decides to tell you.

“Kid was just taunting me... “ His shoulders slump as he rubs the back of his skull with frustration. “Sometimes it’s like there’s another person inside of them. The times they killed me and the others always made me feel as if they were a different person. They occasionally get that way and it rattles me. They **know** it rattles me. That’s why they always try to set me off, and then I feel so **stupid** for letting myself get toyed around by a child. And now, although I know they can’t reset anymore, it still always makes me feel like they could change their mind and just dust everyone here. And then that’s worse, right? Because then they can’t reset and then everyone’s death would be permanent and-” 

He takes a deep breath to try and calm himself and you don't tell him that Frisk's body does house two people because it's not your story to tell.

“After living through the resets for so long, it’s scary now knowing that everything I do and everything that happens actually makes a difference. Y’know?” He kind of shrinks in on himself and you can’t help but wrap your arms around his middle in a silent show of your support. 

“... it’s so stupid and I hate that I feel like a hypocrite for hating the resets but also not being okay that they’re not going to happen anymore.”

“We’ll go through this together.” You hug him tighter. “I promise.” 

You know that Sans will need lots of time to go through this, and you didn’t know if he'll ever truly get over. But you want him to know that he isn't alone anymore, and that you’ll battle life with him no matter what. You hope that makes a difference.

-

Before Sans goes home to prepare for his classes, you quickly change out of your clothes and ask him to teleport you to the Aces’ base so you can get your motorbike back. 

“Hey Debs!” One of the gangsters remembers you as he calls out in greeting. 

“Hello!” You wave, “Where’s Mark?” 

You head towards the direction the guy’s pointed you in and find Mark with Jacob after one of the gangsters lets you into the room.

“Hey Debs, good to see ya.” Jacob grins, “Heard you totally trashed the place.”

You giggle sheepishly at that as you hold your hands up in surrender, “That was totally not my idea. My friends just got too excited. Thanks for all your help. I couldn’t have done it without you guys, seriously. Will Black Spades find out you had a hand in it?” 

“Probably not.” Mark greets you with a fist bump, “But even if they do, it’s not like we were best friends to begin with.” 

“Yeah but we don’t want to offset the balance.” You cross your arms and lean on Mark’s desk, troubled.

Mark watches as you crease your eyebrows and cross your arms under your chest, unconsciously emphasizing your ample chest. He has to cough and shake his head to knock himself out of it.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll deal with it as it comes. Anyway, what do you need?” 

“Oh!” You push yourself off the table, “I’m here for my bike!” 

You ride off happily on your bike as you wave goodbye to Mark and Jacob. 

Jacob turns to Mark when you ride away, “Are you really not going to tell her?” 

Mark’s eyes are still on your silhouette in the distance. 

“Yeah. The Aces aren’t so weak that we need to rely on her. She’s already chosen out of this life. Debs helped us out, and we helped her. We’ll deal with the rest.”

  
Of course the Black Spades would find out that Aces had a hand in it. Although they had tried to mask their identities while looking for Frisk, it was impossible with the sheer amount of people he had sent out. They were bound to be recognised. 

The monsters that attacked them were practically untouchable for now because they were so powerful, but the Aces were an easier target. With one of their bases practically buried, to expect zero retaliation was but a pipe dream. It was also a good reason to shed all cordiality and use it as an excuse to claim some territory they had been gunning for. It was killing two birds with one stone.

The Aces already got wind that the Black Spades were preparing for war. Sure, he could ask you for help, and it’d probably make things a lot easier, but he couldn’t. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn’t help being stupid for you.

Jacob looked at Mark with sympathy. Everyone in the gang knew that he had a strong thing going for you ever since you fought your way up and took over Jacob’s position as Mark’s second in command. Hell, half the guys had been gunning for you back then and your name was still legendary in the Aces. The new ones who didn’t know you, definitely knew of you. That was why he had started all the rumors back then; it was easy to do so. The girls in the gang were all burning with jealousy, and were spiteful bitches. 

After all he did, Jacob didn’t really expect you to turn up that day to rescue Kate. It was even more unexpected that you forgave him and treated him so kindly since. You’d really changed since then. He hadn’t even seen you get angry yet. 

Placing an arm on Mark’s shoulder, they head back inside to continue their discussion on how to deal with the impending crisis.

-

A few weeks later, you’re closing up shop for the day. You don’t have any plans today because Sans is overseas for one of his university modules. He invited you to go with, but you weren’t all that interested. And he’d also be back in a few days, so you decline his offer.

As you’re cleaning up, the bell on your door rings and you’re about to call out that you’re closed for the day when you see who it is.

You drop the mop in your hands and dash to the door, "David?!" It was one of the gangsters from Aces and he was covered in blood. "What the fuck happened?!" 

"Black Spades. M-Mark and Jacob are s-still fighting at the old spot. H-help-" David blacks out and you call an ambulance as you slam down the shutters of your shop and ride your bike to the old abandoned square 20 minutes from here. But you believed you'd be able to make it in 10.

When you reach the square, its absolute chaos. Unconscious bodies litter the floor as groups are brawling all over the place. It's major sensory overload as you try to look for Mark over the sea of people and dodge the knives and stray bullets as you weave your way through. At one point, you summon your magic and turn the floor into a kind of super speed travelator and move the confused souls out of your way.

By the time you figure out where Mark is, Caleb has a gun pointed at his head, ready to pull the trigger.

"Stop!!" You cry out, summoning your magic and willing his gun to change into a taser, with him holding the wrong end. 

"Fuck!" He cries out, dropping the taser and rubbing his wrist. You change the taser into a rubber duck so he can't use that against you or Mark.

"Debs. Didn't want you to come." Mark mumbles weakly. Damn, Caleb really did a number on him.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, you bitch." Caleb snarls. "Where's your little boyfriend?" He glances around, terrified of Sans. 

You mentally curse the bad timing, but try to play his fear to your advantage. "You'll see." You grin as you walk towards him. Anyway, you could handle him on your own. No sweat.

"Don't move!" He pulls out another gun on you as you turn that into a rubber duck as well. 

"When are you going to learn, you sack of shit?" You keep walking, unfazed. 

Suddenly, he says something into his lapel and red dots appear on your body as well as on Mark. You're not stupid, you know what those are.

"Oh, I've learned my lesson alright. Can you change every single one of these guns? Assuming you can even find out where they are." 

You immediately stop moving. He was right. You can only change the items if you know where they are, but the information is outdated if they think you have a limit to the number of things you can change at once. You have a feeling you know who told him your weakness. 

When you stop walking, Caleb looks visibly relieved. "Ha! You bitch, your boyfriend isn’t even here, is he? We have intel that says he’s gone overseas. You know, I ought to kill you right now, but your uncle wants you alive.” He looks disgusted that he has to let you go. But his eyes shine with a sick glint as he relishes the suffering you’ll have when he kills Mark, “Now say goodbye to your friend." 

“Wait!” You cry out, suddenly desperate. You can’t let your friend die in front of your eyes. “You won this fight. You don’t have to kill him.”

He smirks as he spits condescendingly at you, “You’re a naive idiot if you think-”

“But” you continue, hands up, trying to placate him, “If you take me back with you, you’ll score points with my uncle.”

He hesitates, eyes guarded as he glares at you. 

“Look, if you don’t believe me, you can call him.” You move your hand slowly into your pocket to get your phone and hold it out.

You keep your eyes on him as Mark tries desperately to tell you not to do something so stupid, but you pointedly ignore him. 

Eventually, Caleb makes the decision to bring you back with him and decides not to call.

“You have to promise not to hurt me or my men, and not to escape.” He growls.

“I promise.” Of course you’d break out. What, were you five?

You smile to Mark placatingly as Caleb releases him, but he grabs on to you. 

“Debs, don’t.” 

“I’ll be fine. Trust me!” You grin at him as you walk over to the car. 

When Mark’s back with the crew and leaving, you gather your magic, ready to escape.

Suddenly, you feel a sharp pain on the back on your head as you’re hit with a surprise attack that you should have seen coming and the world fades to black. 


	26. Take back what's mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We gotta get you back.
> 
> Wot? Grillby is a badass.

You’re constantly fading in and out of consciousness. By the time you get the slightest bit lucid, they knock you out again with some kind of drug and the world keeps fading to black. All you know is that you're in deep shit this time.

-

Caleb wipes his bruised knuckles as he looks over at you as you’re slumped over, tied to the chair. 

The ropes were purely for formality's sake, of course. He knew that those would not hold you if you ever regained consciousness. Hell, nothing would. That’s why they had no choice but to keep you drugged and unconscious until your uncle came to get you. Then, you’d no longer be his problem.

He'd put in that call tomorrow once he was done with you.

He turns to one of his men, “Did we get that rat that escaped yet?” 

“The one from Aces?” His eyes dart around nervously, “No, but we’re getting close.”

Caleb punches the table in frustration, “You have three days. Or you’ll take his place. Scram.”

The guy almost pisses his pants as he dashes head first out of the room, nodding furiously.

The day they fought with the Aces, their plan had been leaked and they’d almost failed. They’d found out who it was, but the snake had already escaped. He bristled knowing that he had given such a high ranking position to a spy from the Aces and wondered who else they had snuck in.

He turns to another one of his men, “Make sure she stays down. And clean up her blood.”

He slams the door behind him.

-

Sans checks his phone for the hundredth time that night as he lies in his hotel bed. 

You told him that you were free for the rest of the day, so why weren’t you replying his texts? You normally replied within a few minutes when you weren’t at work, and it was extremely out of character for you not to pick up any of his calls. You’d never left your phone behind before because you were such an addict. Maybe you slept early? 

His thumb hesitates over the button as he wonders if he should call Ashley to see if she knows what’s up, or he could just teleport over to your house... but he doesn't want to be clingy. He decides to put his phone aside and to try to go to sleep. He’d ask you what was going on in the morning. Maybe you were just out having fun.

Sans tries to go to sleep, but he wakes up again at 2am and rolls over to check his phone. Still nothing. He can’t help himself anymore as he decides to call Ashley.

She picks up, surprisingly.

“Hey Ashley, is Debs home?”

“I honestly have no idea, I’m still at work. What’s up?” 

“She hasn’t replied to any of my texts. Or picked up my calls.”

“Feeling clingy, skellyboy?” The voice was teasing but also slightly worried as well.

“I’m serious, Ashley.”

“Why don’t you just teleport to our home and check?” 

“I’ll do that. Thanks.” 

Sans cuts the line and teleports to your house immediately, but the lights are off and nobody’s home.

He teleports to your room, but you aren’t there either.

After checking the toilet, backyard and other areas, he teleports inside your shop next to see if you’re there, but that’s empty too. 

He notices that you didn’t lock your shop up properly when light filters through the bottom of the shutters. He moves to pull your shutters down the whole way when he notices some red on the floor. He immediately throws them up and sees a big pool of blood on the floor at the front of your shop. His eyelights flicker out as he full on loses his mind and doesn’t know what to do. 

He forces himself to stem the panic that’s threatening to overwhelm him as he wonders how he can find you. He doesn’t know where you are, but he knows someone who will be able to help him. Someone who will care as much as he does. He teleports to the Aces base.

Sans knows something is wrong the moment no gangsters are standing guard at the front of the base. Gritting his teeth, he heads inside. Some of the gangsters who notice him immediately pull their guns out as Sans, already nearing the end of his rope, summons his Gaster Blasters. 

“Fucking try me.” He growls, left eye flashing with violence. 

“Stand down, he’s a friend. I think.” Jacob comes from the back and commands his men.

“I’m looking for Debs.” Sans stomach starts to sink as he knows for sure now that something is terribly wrong and that you are probably in danger.

“Can we talk inside?” Jacob raises his hands in surrender, pleading. He’s terrified of Sans and his Gaster Blasters.

“TELL ME **N O W.”** Sans’ soul is literally shaking as he feels whatever’s left of his sanity begin to leave him.

“Caleb took her.” 

Three simple words, but they hollowed Sans from the inside out.

“Where.” 

“We don’t know.” Kudos to Jacob, who manages to not piss himself in fear as Sans blasts a hole through the side of the building with his gaster blaster.

“Mark’s unconscious now and at the hospital, but he said that she gave herself up in exchange for him because her uncle would want her.” Jacob keeps talking, fighting the trembles that wreck his body as Sans growls animalistically. “They won’t kill her.” 

“For your sakes they better not have touched a fucking hair.”

He teleports out of the place and back to his house as he calls Ashley. 

She picks up after the first ring.

“You got updates?”

“Black Spades got her.” He spits out, fingers tightening on his phone, threatening to crush it.

“Fuck.” 

“They said something about her uncle. Do you have any idea?” 

“... I know that her uncle Levi deals with the mafia, it could be him. But I don’t know where he is, so that won’t give you any leads on her current location.”

“But I can.” 

Sans turns around to see Frisk standing behind him.

“What do you mean? I thought you said you couldn’t turn time back anymore.”

“I can’t. But I know where she is.” They say plainly.

“How? Wait, no. I don’t care. Tell me where she is.” 

“Okay, but I’m coming with you. And tell Ashley to send Grillby.” 

“Why?”

“You’ll see.”

“What about Paps?” 

“I’ll wake him. See you downstairs.” 

Sans turns back to his phone.

“Hey Ashley-”

“I heard. Give me your address and I’ll send him over. I hope he picks up my call.”

“Tell her to send him to the abandoned library at xxx instead! We’ll meet him there!” Frisk calls from down the hallway.

“Got it.” Ashley replies, “Keep me posted. And make those fuckers pay.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

By the time Sans leaves his room, Papyrus is already standing with Frisk, ready to go. 

“DO NOT WORRY, BROTHER. HUMAN DEBS WILL BE SAFE.”

Sans doesn’t trust himself to speak as they head off to take Papyrus’s car. At that moment, Sans vowed to throw himself into research to find a way for him to teleport to you immediately no matter where you were. 

-

When they reach the abandoned library, they find Grillby standing nearby with a metal bat. 

“Grillbz, you came.” Sans nods gratefully.

“I am offended that you assumed otherwise.” His voice is low, grumbly. He has taken off his spectacles, ready for combat. 

“Okay, I’m going to need you guys to follow my instructions to a T. I can explain next time, but you guys need to trust me if you want Debs back alive.” Frisk orders, voice extremely solemn. “We really cannot fuck this up.” 

“We understand.” Papyrus answers, voice uncharacteristically quiet. Even Sans is surprised. 

Frisk nods once everyone expresses their acknowledgement.

“Grillby, set those trees on fire…. now.” 

Grillby moves to send out multiple fireballs and the trees light the area up like a nightlight.

“Guys, when the men come out to put out the fire, we’re going to charge in. The moment we do, Grillby, you need to focus on burning down everything you can, then get the hell out. Papyrus, you’re in charge of the second floor. When the men are cleared, I need you to come up to the third floor. I’ll tell you which room. Sans, I’m coming with you. We’re heading right to the third floor.”

When the men come pouring out of the house with hoses and fire extinguishers, Papyrus picks Frisk up and they charge into the house.

“Grillby! Focus your attacks on the guy with the white shirt!” Frisk calls out as they dash up the stairs.

“Remember to come look for us once you’re done!” Frisk reminds Papyrus as he puts them down and moves to attack.

Frisk and Sans charge up the stairs with Sans leading the way, tossing people to the walls with wild abandon or stabbing them directly with white sharp bones poking out of the wall. Frisk winces at the sound of bones cracking and subconsciously recalls the time they had to go through that.

As they run down the hall with Sans, Frisk points to the second door, “She’s here! But be careful, there are three guys guarding her.” 

Sans left eye continues to burn a bright blue as he knocks the door down with a gaster blaster and sends two guys crashing into each other and one directly out the window. He hopes it hurt on the way down.

He does a quick scan of the room to make sure that no threats are left before he walks over to the girl tied to the chair in the middle of the room. 

“Debs?” You hadn’t moved since he entered the room, so you must be unconscious. He notes the needles at the side table and realises that they must have drugged you. He's already about to lose it when he comes closer and sees your face and the state you’re in. His bones fill with pure and unadulterated rage. It’s like anger and violence have pervaded his body in place of his magic, and his fingers twitch, itching to blast the goddamned place down with everyone in it. And Caleb. He’d fucking rip the guy apart piece by piece and make him beg for the sweet release of death.

You finally regain consciousness and bite back a groan, hoping that they don’t notice you’ve woken up. However, you come eye to socket with your favourite skeleton and want to beam at the relief that washes over you, but fuck suddenly everything hurt.

Your think your face is swollen and it feels like your eyes are definitely bruised. From the way your nose is throbbing, you figure it's also broken. You definitely taste blood in your mouth too. Sigh, Caleb must have landed a few hits while you were unconscious. That was definitely low, even for him. He must have had a hard time when you put him through the floor.

The back of your head throbs from where they knocked you out, a painful reminder of your stupidity as you curse your overconfidence.

You try to force a smile in spite of the pain, “Sup’ Puddin’.”

A little too weak to summon your magic just yet, you can’t get rid of the ropes on your own.

“I brought Paps.” 

You turn to see Frisk rushing in with Papyrus, who looks way too worried for you than he should be.

“I can only do the basic healing to numb your pain. We will get the full healing done once we get to Toriel. She is better at this than I am.” Papyrus tells you as he places a gloved hand on each side of your face and you feel the warm and tingly glow of his orange magic. You’ve never heard him speak in such hushed and solemn tones before. You must look really bad.

Sans moves behind you and cuts your ropes off with a sharp edge of a summoned bone. 

Rubbing your hand on your wrists, you mutter a thanks as you grip your nose in between your fingers to set it right. Ah, you can finally breathe again.

You notice Frisk raise an eyebrow at the practiced way you did it, but you don’t say anything to explain. Too tired. You were so grateful that Papyrus numbed the pain first, though. The pain was a real bitch otherwise.

“We gotta go.” Frisk urges Sans and Papyrus.

“Not till I get Caleb.” Sans growls.

“We’ll get him next time, he’s not even here.” 

Sans still looks like he’d rather die than to leave without his revenge, but Frisk adds on, “We’ll burn this place down once we get out. Come on Sans, we really have to go. Debs needs medical attention too.”

Sans looks at your bruised and wounded face and nods.

“Wait, I need to get Kiwi.” You whip your head around the room as a rabbit peeks out from under the table and runs into your arms.

With a blip, you’re all standing outside the house.

What? Grillby’s here too? 

“Burn the house down, Grillby. We have 40 seconds.” Frisk says quickly.

He nods in reply and completes the act in 30 seconds. Grillby kicked ass!! You almost whoop out loud when Sans grabs you in a bear hug as he teleports you all to Toriel’s place. He almost forgets the car.

-

Toriel is confused when Frisk first wakes her up, but when she heads down to the living room and takes one look at you, her confusion is replaced by fury and concern. You had to admit that you felt really cared for as she fussed over you while threatening hellfire upon whoever did this. 

Before you can thank Grillby and Papyrus properly, Sans teleports them back home.

“We’ll thank them next time.” Is all he replies when you whine about it. 

After Toriel examines every inch of your face to make sure it’s cleared of bruises, she gives you a hug and tells you to wake her up if you feel any more discomfort. She also insists that you stay the night again since nobody is at home anyway.

“Thanks Goat Mum, you’re the best.” You heart feels so warm and fuzzy that so many people came to your rescue. You had never been so cared for in your whole life.

“Feeling better?” Sans walks over to you and cradles your cheek in his hand.

“Yeah, monster magic is hella awesome.” You grin as you lean into him.

“Good.” He sighs, eyebrows still furrowed. You better give Ashley a call. I already updated her, but she sounds worried sick.” 

He hands you his phone as you stick your tongue out sheepishly. 

By the time you end the phone call, you need to check and make sure your ear hasn’t fallen off from all her nagging and also it sounded like she was crying. Your bestie was so cute.

You walk over to hand the phone back to Sans.

“Are you heading back to the hotel?” The shock of the day hadn’t really worn off yet, so you were feeling pretty okay. You remember that Sans was in the middle of his work trip, and wasn’t due back yet.

“I’m cancelling it. I already told Alphys. She’ll make something up to cover for me.” His eyelights are still out as he holds your hand.

“Alright. Can we get some clothes from my home so I can shower? You need a bath too.” 

He nods as he teleports you back to your place and waits for you as you pick up your clothes.  
“Not letting you out of my sight.” He replies when you tell him that he can go get his clothes then come get you once he’s done.

You’re grateful for that, as you’re starting to feel the adrenaline wash out of your system.

When you’re back at Toriel’s, you realise that you’ve started shaking.

Sans notices as well that your bravado is wearing off and he tosses a worried glance in your direction as you try to smile.

“Wanna shower together?” You ask. You don’t want to be alone.

“Okay.” He wraps you in a hug as you grab a fistful of his shirt.

Your mind is blank as you step into the bathtub, and Sans doesn’t try to fill the silence either as he helps to shampoo your hair. 

You rinse and dress yourself methodically and Sans’ eyelights dart to your wrist when you rub it subconsciously. You forgot you had some minor rope burns as well. You hear his low growl as his eyelights flicker out.

The moment the both of you step into the bedroom, you burst into tears and Sans immediately grabs you in a hug again. You wrap your arms around his waist and sob. The fear and terror finally hits you as you tremble uncontrollably in his arms.

You were so completely powerless to do anything back then, and they could have done literally **anything** to you. Caleb probably wouldn’t have stopped at just punching if you had been kept there long enough. What would have happened to your body if you were drugged for extended periods of time? It's not like they cared as long as you were still alive. You don’t even know how Sans and the others had managed to come to your rescue so quickly. 

Sans lifts you up in a princess carry as he places you gently on the bed. 

“Try to sleep, Love. You’re safe. I’m right here with you.”

His heart is broken when he watches as you cry yourself to sleep, soaking the front of his shirt.

He’d let things go for tonight, but there was going to be hell to pay for what they did to you.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love an OP hero saving a damsel in distress. 
> 
> How do you feel about these dark moments? Leave a comment down below! I'd love to chat with you :)


	27. Knock knock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans gets a tiny taste of revenge and shares how he meets Toriel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings at the end if you need it

You're already awake and just sitting in bed talking to sans when Undyne bursts into your room. Well it's not exactly your room since you technically just stayed the night but Toriel already declared it as such. She was the best Goat Mum you ever had.

Undyne scans you up and down with her good eye and yells, "I can't believe you went to a gang fight without me AND FUCKIN LOST." 

She turns to Sans, "Did you kill the FUCKER yet?!"

You're guessing that Alphys was the one who brought Undyne up to speed.

"Not yet." Sans growls.

He glances at you and hops out of bed after nuzzling your forehead. He doesn't want his or Undyne's negative emotions to affect you, so he asks Undyne to talk with him downstairs.

You tell him he doesn't have to but if you're being completely honest, your mental and emotional state isn't exactly in its best shape.

"We'll be quick." He ruffles your hair, "Try to sleep, Love."

You settle back and lean your head on the pillow as he heads outside with Undyne. You know you're safe here.

-

"So what's the plan?" Undyne bristles, irritated that she wasn't brought along on your rescue mission. 

"I don't care about the Black Spades in general, but Caleb's dead meat." Sans' soul aches and burns with malice when he recalls the events of last night.

They turn around when they notice a silhouette appear behind them.

Frisk walks into the kitchen.

_He'll be in his home at xxx today at 12pm. That's the best time to get him._

“What?! How do you know?” Undyne looks puzzledly at them.

 _Tell you next time_. They sign with a wave as they head back to their room

Sans doesn’t particularly care at this point, focused only on ending the guy.

-

By the time you wake up, Sans is already back in bed beside you.

You notice a bit of blood on his shirt, “Did you get him?” Your voice is a whisper.

“Kind of.” He grunts back, dissatisfied.

He shouldn’t have gone with Undyne. As a member of the police force, Undyne refused to stand by and watch him murder the guy even though she’d left the room to let him get a few good hits in before bringing him in to the station. 

At least he managed to ‘accidentally’ tear a few holes through Caleb’s upper thigh, stomach and shoulder. He only stopped when Undyne came back into the room cursing and swearing as they had to get Papyrus in to heal him up at least superficially so that he wouldn't die before reaching the station.

“Undyne arrested him.” is all he tells you.

You bite down on your lower lip, torn because you knew how these things worked. Caleb would be out of there in less than a week with nothing but a fine and a slap on the wrist. But you were also glad that Sans didn’t kill him. You didn’t want to turn him into a murderer over some shitforbrains like Caleb. After all, you were fine now and that’s what mattered. 

You cup your hands around his cheeks and send a soft thread of your love, gratefulness and calm to him. He can sense it, and surprise takes over his frustration.

“Are you.. Sending me emotions?” He raises a browbone, eyes filling with pride. You were getting so good at using your magic and manipulating it in different ways.

You nod excitedly, “Yeah! I’ve been practicing. What do you feel?” 

He pauses, “...Good? I feel really loved.” He pulls you into a hug and nuzzles into your neck.

You wrap your arms around his neck and press your body close to him as you kiss him deeply. You really missed your skeleton.

“Your bed or mine?” You grin at him and tease with a wiggle of your eyebrows. 

He presses his teeth to yours as you’re teleported onto his bed in his room.

*

“Mine’s better.” He says in between kisses, “It’s soundproofed.” 

You giggle against him and a gasp leaves you when he slips a finger in.

His fingers are coated with a layer of his magic and a satisfied moan escapes your lips as you grip onto him and dig your fingers into the back of his ribs.

Pulling your soul out, you let it meet his and your emotions are intensified when they overlap. 

Yeah, you could feel his emotions naturally, but after he told you the last time, you realise that through the connection of your souls, Sans’ emotions flow through you in a way much more intimate than you can feel through your magic.

You absolutely crave it. 

Pulling your shirt and bra off, he takes a nipple between his teeth as you arch your back into him and grind against him, needy and desperate. 

The sounds you’re making almost brings Sans to his knees as he moves his hands over your body, appreciating the smoothness and softness of your skin. 

He rubs his teeth gently along your flat belly as he makes his way down where his tongue dances along your core and he adds another one of his fingers to the mix.

Your mind blanks under his touch and you allow yourself to drown in the waves of ecstasy. You never felt closer to Sans than in intimate moments like these. 

“My turn.” You grin as you flip him over and work his shirt off him as you kiss your way down his sternum. Brushing your fingers gently down his ribs and his lower spine, you take a deep breath when his pleasure fills your soul. You love it when he lets out a low growl as your hands find their way to his length and you take off his pants.

You take your panties and shorts off in a playful strip tease as you shoot the panties towards his face like a rubber band. You giggle as it lands on his forehead and watch with exasperation when he decides to let it stay there. 

Lifting a leg over him, you eventually have to crawl up and take it off yourself. 

"You can't just leave it there!" You toss your panties to the side of the room.

"It was a good look for me." He laughs, licking the valley between your boobs.

Rolling your eyes, you settle back on top of his pelvic bone as you take his shaft and guide it gently into you. 

You can't help but let out a soft squeak as the magic tingles inside you and your legs turn to jelly. 

Sans eyes almost black out right there and a growl escapes him, a testament to how close you were to coming already.

He chuckles good naturedly as he teases you, “Really?” 

“Hey, you have a magical penis. That’s hardly fair-.” He sits up and turns you flat on your back, letting his tongue tango with yours.

“I love you, Debs.” He coos as he brushes the hair out of your face.  
“With all my soul, Puddin’.” And your love for him grows with every thrust, till your heart feels like it's about to burst out of your chest.

At the end of it, you fall asleep cradled in the arms of your super skeleton who’s just as exhausted as you are. 

*

After a quick nap, you're teleported back to Toriel’s place and Sans asks Toriel to heal the rope burns on your wrists.

She wraps her fluffy paws around your wrists as she lets her magic flow around you. 

"Tsk, I'd love to show this Caleb a good piece of my mind." Toriel's gaze is clouded over as if she's lost in some sort of memory. 

"Don't worry Goat Mum, Sans and Undyne already tossed him in jail." 

Her fluffy paws cradle your head to her chest as you hug as much of her as you can. 

“You should really take better care of yourself. If you are going to fight, you should at least let Sans know where you will be beforehand. If he cannot go with you, you should take Undyne or Papyrus. Asgore and I can handle any repercussions from incidents involving monsters and combat magic. It’s something we’re used to. You cannot take the weight of the world on your shoulders and it is irresponsible to handle everything on your own.” Her voice is angry, but you can feel her waves of concern washing around your soul.

"If I had a mother, I wish it were you." You whisper, voice muffled by her purple dress. 

"You already call me Goat Mum, do you not?" Toriel kisses the top of your head. She stops her nagging as her gaze turns soft, "That is, if you will have me." 

You hug her tighter as you nod your head.

-

You're sitting in the living room eating some butterscotch cinnamon pie that Toriel made for you as you point your fork at Sans. 

"So what's the history between you and Goat Mum?" You say in between bites.

"W-What?" He almost chokes on his pie.

"Yeah. You guys have a weird relationship. Kind of like best friends who tried it out but broke it off mutually and remained close." You eye him suspiciously, daring him to lie to you. "Isn't she too old for you though?" 

He clears his throat and lights up blue, "Eh… "

He flicks his eyelights to you nervously before he sighs.

“I was wandering around the ruins one day...”

-

Younger Sans was wandering around the ruins, taking an obviously well-deserved break from his role as a sentry, when he found a house with a huge door.

“Knock Knock.” He calls out while knocking on the large door, not really expecting anyone to reply.

“Who’s there?” A voice replies after a while. It sounds like it belonged to a female monster, but he isn’t sure. Not all monsters had genders.

“Etch.” He replies, taken off guard that someone actually replied.

“Etch who?” The voice calls back, amusement tinting her voice.

“Bless you.” 

There’s silence for a moment before the monster on the other side of the door bursts out laughing.

Sans has a genuine smile on for the first time in a long while as he realises it feels really good to have someone actually enjoy his jokes. He'd tell them to Papyrus often and got a kick out of annoying him, but Papyrus didn’t REALLY appreciate that.

“Knock Knock.” It comes from the other side of the door this time.

“Whos there?” He raises a brow bone in delight.

“I eat mop.” The voice calls back.

“I eat mop who?” 

“Eew, but monsters don’t poo.” The monster replies, laughing with unconcealed mirth.

Sans takes a second but he joins the monster and has to wipe glowing blue tears from the corner of his eyes as he doubles over in laughter. That was a terrible joke and he loved it.

He eventually found himself going back there every day, and she’d always be there waiting for him.

It was like his own secret escapade, something to look forward to. It took the pain out of everyday life.

“Knock Knock.” He raps on the door heartily.

“... Friend.” The voice begins. 

Sans startles, was something wrong?

“Yes?” 

“If a human ever comes through this door, could you please, please promise me something?”

There’s nothing more he hates than making a promise, but he couldn’t say no to her. To this woman whose name he didn’t even know.  
“Watch over them and protect them, will you not?”

“I promise.” He grunts. It’d been a long time since a human appeared in the undergrounds. Maybe he wouldn’t have to.

He never expected for a human to make their way through those doors and turn his life into a living hell. Stars damn all promises. He never wanted to make another one again. 

He finally found out who she was when she emerged to save the kid from Asgore, and it was the fucking Queen of the Monsters. He gave up right there, not that he ever truly considered the possibility. 

-

“I never made a move on her.” Sans raises his hands in surrender, “She was just a real good friend.” 

“But you liked her.” You say, matter of factly. 

“VERY little.” He presses his thumb and finger together to show just how little he liked her.

You narrow your eyes at him, but then you reach out to hold his hand, “I’m actually glad that she was there for you.” You smile at him, and you really mean what you say. “Loneliness is a bitch.” 

“But I have you now.” He grins as he squeezes your hand.

He looks into your eyes, “Knock Knock.”

“Who’s there?” 

“Olive.”

“Olive who?” You giggle, knowing where this is going.

“Olive you.” 

“Olive you too, you cheesy skeleton.” You say as you steal the last bite of his pie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Light vanilla emotional cute af smut from * to *
> 
> Entirely skippable if smut isn't what you're into.
> 
> I'll be gone for awhile again! Leave me comments, I'll still be up for a chat :D


	28. Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do the holidays have in store for our favourite characters?
> 
> Debs is a handful again, as she always is!  
> Have some fluff and plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the extra long chapter for your Christmas special! It's Christmas Eve where I am, so this is my present to all of you fine folks.

“Win a box of christmas cupcakes on the house if you can sing the jingle bell song backwards!” 

You’d spent the week wondering what you could do for christmas and are now standing in the middle of a busy street, decked in a cute female santa outfit and handing out free cupcakes to anyone who will give you their time of day.

You’d given out a few boxes already, your favourite ones to a kid who’d sung your favourite version of the jingle bell song:  
  


_Jingle bells,_

_Batman smells,_

_Santa laid an egg._

_Timmy took some chocolate sauce_

_And dumped it on my head!_

Giggling, you’d given him two boxes for his efforts and are now down to your last box.

“Hey cutie, you can jingle my bells all night.”

You turn around, amused and disgusted all at the same time.

That wasn’t bad. You’d give him 1.4 points for creativity. 

“Sorry pal, not interested.” Is what you say instead of cussing him out, since your momma raised you right. Well not really, but the idea was there.

“Come on, give me a chance.” Is what he says while trying to give you what he probably assumes to be a charming grin.

You’re down to your last box anyway, so you figure you might as well stop wasting your time and head down to the university to surprise Sans. You’re sure he’d like some cupcakes! 

Turning on your heels, you ignore the guy and head straight to your bike. 

You’ve already tuned him out and forgotten about him as you pack the box of cupcakes into your motorcycle rear box and ride away.

-

You realise that you must be attracting a lot of attention from the students in the university with your rabbit on your shoulder **and** your santa outfit. It wasn’t exactly your choice of outfit since the skirt was too short and the top was too figure hugging. You’d actually gone for the santa outfit with the beard and the pillow potbelly, but they didn’t have it in your size. Boooooo.

Well it turns out that Sans wasn't in his office, but you have too much energy to just wait there patiently. 

It'd be more fun to look for him!

As you're walking around, you notice a group of boys looking your way so you hop on over to see if they know which class Sans is teaching today. 

“Hello! Do you guys have any idea where a skeleton professor is teaching class today?” 

“S-sorry. I’ve seen him before but I don’t know where he is. Do any of you guys know where Prof Sans is?” One of the kids stutters as he looks around him. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the kids shake their heads as well. 

Damn it, perhaps you'd have to ask other kids.

"Debs?" 

You turn around to see a familiar face.

"Andy?" This was one of the kids you met from Sans' class before! 

"Are you looking for Prof Sans?"

It was obvious from the last time, that you and Sans were dating, so it was a logical conclusion.

"Yeah! Do you know where he is?" You were saved! You run over to him.

"Oh yeah I actually have class with him now, but im late." He shrugs. "Do you want to come with me?" 

"Yes, please!" You're ecstatic to have found Sans so easily, so you bob happily beside him.

"So uh, what's up with the santa costume?" He makes small talk on the way there.

“It’s the festive season!” You walk backwards to look at him, full of energy. “I was giving out free cupcakes to anyone who would sing me a christmas carol. I came to surprise Sans with my last box. Do you think he’ll be happy to see me?” You loved the opportunity to talk to people your age. You never got that chance, which was why you loved your job at the cafe. You got to talk to all your customers.

Andy nods, “Definitely. You look good, by the way. I like the pink highlights in your hair too.” 

Those were new. You’d gone over your highlights with pink for the season.

Genuinely pleased at his compliment, a brilliant smile lights up your face, “Thank you!” 

You continue chatting on the way there, and the lecture theatre isn’t that far.

He pushes the door in and you try to shuffle in quietly behind him. Sans is halfway through giving his lecture, so you don’t want to distract him.

-

Sans is very distracted.

Halfway through giving his lecture, he sees you walking through the door, half crouching to hide behind his best student, Andy. The way you crouch keeps revealing your light pink panties, and with how short your skirt is, he hopes to the stars that you didn’t ride your bike here.

He could cry at your level zero self-awareness. 

Pinching the bridge of his nose (if he had one), he lets the class know that there’s a five minute break before he climbs the stairs up to you. 

“Sup’ Prof.” Andy waves to him. 

“Hey, Kid.” He nods to him in passing as he stops in front of you.

“Whatcha doin?” Sans looks at you, exasperated for no reason.

“Surprise! I brought cupcakes too!” You pat the box of cupcakes in your hand as you beam at him.

“Thanks for coming, Love. Why don’t you wait for me in my office?” He says as he places his hands on your knees to uncross your legs so that you stop revealing your underwear. He really can’t focus with you in his class. Especially not with the short santa outfit you were wearing. 

“But it’s boring there alooooone.” You pout, trying to get him to let you stay. He always looked so cool when he gave his lecture. You also wanted to take the opportunity to talk more with Andy, Kenneth and Max! Maybe you could go for lunch with them this time. 

“I’ll be done soon. Maybe you could help me collect something from Alphys’ lab? It’s in the next building. After that, we can meet at my office. I should be done by then.” His eyes are pleading for whatever reason.

“Fineee.” You stand up to go, “Text me the address.”

You open up your box of christmas cupcakes and stuff one in Sans' mouth before you hand them to out Andy, Kenneth and Max.

“There’s enough here for you guys too! I made them myself. Merry Christmas!” You beam at them while taking the remaining ones for Alphys. 

You refuse to leave without trading numbers first, and they do although they tremble under Sans’ glare. 

With that done, you head out of the building to look for Alphys and eventually find her lab. 

“Hey Alphys!” You knock on her door. “Sans said you have something for him!”

“Just a m-minute!” A voice calls out. She opens the door and ushers you in.

“Don’t t-touch anything.” She warns you as she goes away to take whatever it is she has to pass to Sans. “S-Some things here are r-rather dangerous.” 

You nod in understanding as you place the box of cupcakes down beside you. 

While waiting, you decide to pick up one of your christmas cupcakes, but as you’re about to eat it, Alphys comes back with the item for Sans. 

“H-Here it is, keep it s-safe!” She hands you a small black box and you have to put the cupcake down on a table beside you to place the box safely in your pocket. You don’t notice that you've accidentally placed your cupcake on some questionable drops of liquid.

“Thanks Alphys! Is there anything else?” You pick your cupcake back up.

“Nope, t-that’s all it is.” 

“Alright, these cupcakes are for you! You can share them with Undyne.” You give her your box of cupcakes as she thanks you and you go outside.

You leave her lab with a wave and head to Sans’ office. You get lost a few times, but it’s nothing you can’t handle as you munch on your cupcake and eventually find your way there.

When you push open the door, Sans isn’t there yet, so you plop yourself into his office chair.

Hmm… was it always so high up? And big?

The chair is up to your shoulders and the table looms just above your head. Oh well, you’ll just check in with Sans about that later as you swing around in his chair.

Sans comes in shortly after you do and his jaw drops when he sees a five ish year old girl with pink highlighted hair in a now-oversized santa outfit sitting in his office chair. 

“Hi Pudding!” You call out cheerily. What? Was your voice always so squeaky?

“D-Debs?” He uses a skeletal hand to rub at his eyesockets and his eyelights double in size. 

“Yeah? What’s wrong!” You hop off his chair and run up to him. Hey, when did he get so big? You barely come up to his waist.

He immediately goes for his phone as he dials Alphys’ number.

“Alphys.” He begins, “Why is Debs like.. I don't know... **FIVE YEARS OLD**??” You notice that his hand is gripping the phone rather tightly as he uses his other hand to rub the back of his skull with frustration. 

“W-what?”  
“She’s five years old, Alphys. I’m coming to get you. Now.”

What? You were five years old? 

You look at your hands and realise they are rather tiny. Neat!

Sans teleports to Alphys and back as she squats to greet you.

“F-Fascinating! It worked!” She runs a claw over your head as you giggle and reach up with both hands to play with her furry giant claw. Squishy!

“Excuse me?” Sans growls.

“I-I mean-” Alphys backpedals and explains, “T-there’s something I’m working on as a side p-project which is supposed to support human healing by reversing time somewhat. I’m guessing that Debs got affected by that s-somehow. She was s-standing near that area b-before she left.” 

“So how do we reverse it?” He looks over to where you’re running about his office, poking at the wads of paper in his trash tornado and squealing as you try to catch it.

“Uhmm… the e-experiment is still a w-work in progress… s-so the effects are only t-temporary. Debs will go back to normal… soon.”

“The paper go whoooosh!” You caught one in your hands and are giggling with delight as you try to catch your next target. This was so fun!

“A-also, debs seems to be about three to four years old. She’s only speaking in four-word sentences.” Her voice tapers off at the end as Sans glowers at her. “D-do you want me to take care of her?”

He sighs in frustration as he shakes his head. He was not going to let Alphys turn you into some sorta experiment.

“I can handle it.” He grinds out as you turn the wads of paper in your hands into toy unicorns and fly them in the air while mumbling gibberish to yourself.

“Don’t you have c-class, though?” 

“I’ll figure it out.” 

It’s a tutorial session, so class is a bit more informal. It’s also the last class of the day. He can do this.

Alphys leaves to go for her next class as you waddle over to Sans and hug his leg.

"From Alphys!" You say, fishing the black box out from your pocket and waving it in the air.

“Thanks," He says as he places it on his table. "Hey, can you make your clothes a little smaller?” They were hanging off of you like a sack.

You weren’t that good at controlling your magic at this moment, so it was kind of hit and miss, but you try.

The clothes turn into a lump of some unidentified mess on the floor instead. 

Oh my God. Sans was looking at a naked version of your child self in an oversized bra. He didn’t know if he was allowed to look. 

“Try again, please.” His voice is strained.

You grit your teeth and try to focus. You manage to turn some of the goop into a pretty pink dress this time, and sans sighs with relief as he helps you to put it on.

"Underwear too." He feels a headache coming on as he points at the silk pink panties you left on his chair.

Luckily, that only takes you three tries.

He remembers to teleport the bra back to his place because leaving it in the office seems like a terrible idea.

Sans takes you by the hand to lead you to his next class nearby. He doesn’t know if the previous class is over yet, so he can’t just pop in. 

Why was it so far away! For every step Sans took, you had to take two to three steps. Your child legs are weary already. 

After a short moment, you sit down on the floor, tired. 

“Debs?” He can’t bring himself to call you ‘Love’. He feels like a pedophile.

“Carry me!” You lift up both hands, “Legs tired.” 

Sighing, he surrounds his laptop with blue magic as he picks you up with his hands. 

“Yay!” You cry out gleefully. You rub your head into his neck, “So high!” 

You turn to his floating laptop and reach out towards it, fascinated. “Want to fly too!” You stick your finger inside the magic bubble and a shiver runs through you as it tingles from the magic.

“Maybe next time.” He says, walking down the hall carrying you in his arms.

“Awwwww. Promise?” You pull away from him and stare at him very seriously.

He rubs your head fondly, “We’ll see.” 

“Hmph.” You pout. That wasn’t a promise. 

When he reaches the place, no classes are going on, so he puts you down and goes to set up his laptop. 

Andy is already in there waiting for class to begin.

“Andy!” You call out with glee as you climb into the chair beside him.

His eyes open wide with shock when he sees you. You look insanely familiar.

“Uh, Prof? When did you get a kid?” It was rare that parents allowed their children to colour their hair, so he figures that you must be really liberal parents. Damnit, he didn’t think that you guys were already married. 

“Sigh, don’t ask. But that’s Debs.”

“Debs?!” What the hell?

“Debs!” You call out gleefully as you point to yourself. 

“Can you distract her with your phone or something?” Sans has no idea how to deal with you as a kid. He has a hard enough time dealing with you as an ‘adult’.

“Uh, okay. I’ll put on Baby Shark I guess?” He has a nephew who LOVES the video baby shark.

“You could also give her paper and a pencil? She could draw something.” He adds on with a shrug.

Throughout the tutorial, you’re busy drawing and you occasionally run up to ask Sans a question or two, but nobody in class says anything about it.

Some of the female students even shift to sit beside you to take care of you.

“Thank you!” You say to one of the blond haired students as she passes you some colour pencils and helps to colour in some parts of your picture. 

"You're so pretty." You comment when you notice that she's the pretty one who sent Sans that cat meme from before.

She leans over to grab you in a hug and gushes about how cute and pretty you are, and class comes to a temporary halt when the rest of the female students turn to you to ask you to rate them too. You don't know how to rate them. They were all pretty to you!

“Hey Prof, where are her shoes?” One of the female students asks once class has ended. 

“Uh…” He tries to think of an excuse. “She lost them?" 

After the mini disaster with your dress, he didn't bother asking you to change your too-giant shoes.

After humming for a moment, she takes out a wrapped gift from her backpack and tears it open. She takes out the pair of toddler shoes inside and shows it to you, “Is this pretty?” 

You nod your head excitedly. It was baby blue! 

“It’s your present! Merry christmas!” She hands it to you as she turns to Sans, “I bought it for my niece, but you can have it.” 

“Are you sure?” He raises a brow bone as you thank the kind soul. 

“Yeah, no biggie.” 

She helps you to put it on and waves goodbye in the hallway.

“Look!” You lift up the drawing in your hands. It was one of you and him married. There was even a kid in between the both of you, holding your hands. “That’s us. I love you!”

Sans dusts a light blue and looks around him with embarrassment as a few female students giggle when they pass by.

“I love you too.” He says as he ruffles your hair. 

He lifts his laptop with his magic again as he prepares to pick you up.

"Wait. Gotta pee!" 

"What?" His eyelights flicker out.

"I gotta pee!" You repeat as you point to the toilet and hop from foot to foot.

"Can it wait?" Maybe he could get you to Toriel's.

"No! Gotta go now!" You're tiny, and so is your bladder. You pull away from him and run into the female toilet.

He paces anxiously while waiting for you outside, unsure if you can handle it on your own. He feels like a dad.

What if you fell into the toilet bowl? You were definitely small enough and clumsy enough. Should he go in and check? Was anyone else inside?

When you finally appear again, he looks visibly relieved.

"Did you wash your hands?" He raises a brow bone at you when they look dry.

You look sheepish as you wiggle your feet and bite your lower lip, "Can't reach." 

He scratches the back of his head. It's not like he can go in to the female bathroom, and he doesn't want to bring you into the male one either. 

He looks desperately around him as he catches a group of girls nearby and has to ask for help. 

They're more than happy to comply and they coo as they lead you into the female washroom. It doesn't even bother them that your hands aren't clean as they hold your hand to lead you in. Maternal instincts were so strong in humans.

"Your daughter is so pretty!" They say as they return you to him.

He's too tired to deny it, so he just nods as he expresses his thanks.

“Magic! Magic!” You point at his laptop when they leave. You want to float like his laptop!

“I’ll show you a different kind of magic okay?" He picks you up in a hug and teleports over to Toriel's. She'll know how to take care of you. He can't do this anymore… he's bone tired.

"Me love teleport!" You give the unsuspecting Sans a kiss on his teeth. Oh stars, he felt like a sinner. 

"Goat mommy!" You wiggle out of his hands and run over to Toriel when she walks in from the kitchen.

"Oh my." Toriel picks you up and looks at Sans, "What happened here?" 

“Debs got tangled up with one of Alphys' experiments. It should wear off eventually.” 

Amusement colours her gaze as Toriel nuzzles the top of your head, “Play with Frisk, will you not? I will prepare some dinner.” 

“Thanks, Toriel.” Sans calls out as he slumps into the sofa and closes his eyes.

Toriel puts you down as you run over to Frisks’ room and knock on their door.

Frisk cracks the door open and their eyes open wide as they look at you.

“Let’s play!” You go over and hold their hand, swinging it.

“Debs?” They ask with incredulity.

“Chara!” You see the red in their eyes and hug them, “My heroes!” You hadn’t managed to thank them since the last time they saved you.

They seem to take your transformation a lot easier than Sans did. 

“Goat Mummy said to play!” You say again as you hold up your toy unicorns. “Do you like unicorns?”

They place a hand on your head and shake their head, “Can’t play now. I’m going for training.”  
“Training?” You pout, “Take me too! I’ll be good.” 

They tilt their head to the side, thinking.

“You can come with us, but you can’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.”

You eyes sparkle with excitement as you put a hand up to zip your lips. You nod with utmost seriousness. You were good at promises.

“Okay, there’ll be someone coming to pick us up.” 

“Is Flowey coming?” You ask as you go over to touch his pretty petals. When he hisses at you, you stick your tongue out at him but don’t stop. 

“No, he thinks it’s boring.” They roll their eyes as he flings a white pellet at them.

Suddenly, a person steps out from a portal in the air that wasn’t there before. 

“Are you ready for your lesson, Frisk?” 

“Yeah, can my friend come too?” The person turns around to look at you and their eyes widen slightly.

“Sure, as long as she doesn't wander around." 

They open up a portal as Frisk holds your hand and leads you through it.

“Wait here for me, my lessons are only around an hour a day.” They smile as they walk off. 

“Okay, Chara.” You smile as you sit down on the floor, watching as the Chara walks towards an elderly man. 

The person who transported you both comes to sit down beside you.

“Hi there.” The person greets you.

“Hello!” You smile. “I’m Debs.”  
“Hi there, Debs.” The person takes off their hood. “I’m Eva. Are you a friend of Frisk and Chara?”

“Mmhmm!” You nod, watching them. “What are they learning?” You watch as the elderly man gently instructs your friend as they hold their hands on top of what appears to be a flower pot. 

“They’re learning to control their magic.” Eva explains, “They’re a very powerful time mage. Time mages are very rare in this world.” 

You almost tell her that you’re a time mage too, but she cuts you off, “You know, you look very familiar.”

You tilt your head in confusion and blink your eyes. Now that you’re smaller, your eyes look impossibly bigger than before.

“You look like my best friend, Fion.” 

“Fion?” 

“Yeah, your eyes are the same.” She pauses, observing you a little more, “She lost her kid a long time ago.” Eva doesn’t know why she’s telling you this, but you just looked so much like Fion that she would have thought you were actually her kid if you were twenty years older. But Fion’s kid would have been an extremely powerful magician, and she could feel nothing from you.

“Eva, Her Majesty is looking for you.” Someone calls for Eva and she says her goodbyes as she leaves.

You go back to watching Chara train, fascinated by the process. You had never had anyone train you before. You wonder how they found Frisk in the first place, and think to ask them later if you remember.

You continue playing with your toy unicorns until Frisk is ready to go.

“Ready to go, Debs?” They walk up to you.

“Okay!” You stand up, dusting the back of your dress. They take you by the hand and bring you back to Toriel’s place through the portal.

“Remember, it’s a secret!” They remind you as Toriel knocks on the door and calls you guys for dinner.

You nod your head firmly. You won’t breathe a word about it.

As you wander to the dinner table, Sans is already there. He looks like he’s just woken up from his nap.

You climb onto the chair beside him but it’s uncomfortable because you’re too short for the table, so you climb onto his lap instead.

“Feed me!” You demand as you look up at him and point at the chicken. You were determined to be spoiled today.

“Got it, you princess.” He rolls his eyelights with a chuckle as he shreds the chicken into smaller pieces and feeds it to you. 

When he picks up the vegetables, you cover your mouth with both hands. “No veggies!” You pout.

He starts to put the vegetables down when Toriel frowns, “Vegetables are good for you, child.”

You stick out your bottom lip and shift yourself in Sans’ lap to bury your head in his chest as he wilts under Toriel’s gaze.

“Uh...” He’s caught between a rock and a hard place. “I’ll eat the vegetables.” He says as he shovels it into his mouth instead. 

Toriel harrumphs, “You shouldn’t spoil the child.”

He manages a weak grin as you tilt your head up to kiss him on the cheek. Vegetables were the spawn of satan.

After dinner, he teleports the both of you back to his place as you sit on his bed, swinging your feet.

“How long will you stay this way?” He grumbles as you bounce around on his bed.

After a while, he climbs into bed beside you and traps you with his body, “Alright, that’s enough out of you. Just looking at you makes me tired.” 

“Awwwwww but I wanna play!” You try to squirm away from him, but he’s too strong. 

“You’ve been playing the whole day, aren’t you tired yet?” 

“Nope!” You give up your futile squirming and your hands start to wander around Sans’ face instead.

He lets you pull at his mouth and you try to poke his eye.

“Hey!” He catches your hand and knocks his forehead to yours. “Can’t you just stay still??”

As you cover your forehead in pain, you glare at him, angered at his betrayal.

Sans genuinely laughs as he looks at you. You really were a pretty child. Frustrating, but adorable.

  
Irritated and fidgety, you chomp down hard wherever your mouth can reach, which happens to be his shoulder bone.

“Ouch!” He growls and blows a raspberry into your belly, which sends you into fits of giggles. You were lucky you were just a child. 

Suddenly, your body starts growing and the seams pull painfully against your body.

Sans lets go of you as you whip all your too-small clothes off while yowling. 

When you finally finish growing, you look up to see Sans almost cry with joy. 

All too soon, a cheeky grin replaces the look of relief on his face.

You let out a yelp when he pounces on you.

“Wait!” You pant, “I’m tired!” You had a lot of energy as a kid, but it was hitting you all at once now that you were old and frail. Okay, you weren't **really** old and frail. But you felt like it.

“No way.” He says as his hands wander freely around your body while nuzzling your neck. “I took care of you for the whole day. I’m just claiming what you owe me.”

You burst out laughing when his teeth wander to a particularly sensitive part around your waist.

“Okay, okay!” You turn the child dress in your hands into a pair of fuzzy socks and slip them on. You might as well give him his christmas present now. 

He releases a growl of pleasure and pulls his soul out, along with his shirt.

Laughing in surrender, you place your hand to your chest and do the same.

  
  
  
  



	29. The last of us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the Frisk and Chara arc

Sans is in your cafe helping out again since he doesn't have any classes to teach today. 

"Hey, Love? Do you have any more mini marshmallows? The jar's empty!" Sans calls out.

"Yeah! They're in the bag under the second counter!" 

He throws a few of the marshmallows into the cup of caramel mocha and hands it over to Aaron.

"Wow! Love it." Aaron says with a wink as he flexes into one of the seats beside Woshua.

The shop is empty as it always is, and that's just the way you like it. After all, you only have this job because you want something to do and people to meet. It's not like you need the money. 

Sans climbs into an empty booth and you follow after him after throwing some cupcakes into the oven.

"Why do you bake when you can just create them with magic?" Sans asks, curious. 

"It's more fun! Doesn't it smell amazing?" You say, "And I always make it better when I understand the science behind it."

You glance outside your shop window to look around and suddenly notice a tall, well built male who looks to be in his early thirties. 

He has dark hair and a sharp jaw, his attractive dark eyes locking with yours. He nods to you before going inside the passenger seat of a black BMW and you watch as the car drives away.

"What are you looking at?" Sans looks outside the window. 

"Oh, nothing." You say, deep in thought. 

The bell of the shop door rings and you turn around to see a yellow spiked dinosaur without arms walking into the store with Frisk trailing behind him. 

"Hey, it's monster kid." Sans comments as he heads to the counter. 

"Hi Frisk!" You turn around to kneel and lean on the back of your seat as you wave to them excitedly.

_You're big again!_ They sign.

"Sure am! What are you doing here?" You run over to ruffle their hair.

 _I'm having a school party so Mum got me to pick up some cupcakes from here._ They giggle as they fix their short hair _. She loves your salted caramel cupcakes._

They turn to monster kid and point to you, _this is Debs._

"Yo! Frisk talks about you a lot! They really like you." Monster Kid looks at you and wags his tail. Frisk raises their eyebrows in surprise and shoves monster kid with their shoulder. "Dude!" He loses his balance and almost falls.

"Awww I really like Frisk too. They saved my life you know! Speaking of which, I should take you out for a meal to thank you!" You give Frisk a big hug.

 _Only if it's a date!_ They sign excitedly.

"What?" Did Frisk just ask you on a date?

"Kid likes to go on dates. They went on a few underground, too." Sans comes over from the counter and puts his arm around your waist.

 _Yeah! I went on dates with Alphys, Undyne, Papyrus… oh and Sans too!_ They sign animatedly.

"So I wasn't your first child date." You grin, poking him in the ribs. "Do I have to get Alphys to turn me again? Is that what you're into?" 

He catches your finger in his hand as he rolls his eyelights. 

Giggling, you turn back to the kids, "Why don't you take a seat! I'll get your cupcakes and some drinks."

"Yo, I… I don't have enough money for drinks." Monster Kid shakes his head. 

_I do! Mum gave me some!_

"Don't worry about it guys, Sans is paying!" You call out as you head to your kitchen.

"What?!" Sans raises his brow bones. 

_Yay! Then I want one of everything._ Frisk signs as they hop into the booth. 

"Dude… thanks." Monster Kid laughs at Sans as he climbs in after Frisk. 

You serve the kids freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate with marshmallows while you chill your freshly baked cupcakes so you can frost them. You remember to add in a straw for Monster Kid.

After an hour or so of talking, Monster Kid finishes his drink as he gets up to leave. 

"...man I should REALLY go home… Are you going to stay?" He asks Frisk.

 _Yeah, you can go ahead! I'll stay a little longer._ Frisk signs back.

When Monster Kid leaves, Frisk starts talking.

"Alright, now you can ask me whatever you want." Their red tinted eyes look at Sans, "Where do you wanna start?" 

"Tell me about that day, when we saved Debs." Sans pauses for a moment before asking. 

"What about it?" 

"You said you can't reset anymore, so how did you know where she was? How did you know how to save her?" 

"Remember that day when Debs was a lil kid?" Frisk turns to Sans as he nods, face in a slight grimace.

"She came to play with me, and I brought her outside when someone came to take me to train my magic. Do you know where we went?" They turn to you this time.

"Not a clue. But there were a whole bunch of mages." You shrug in reply.

"What?! You left Toriel's and didn't tell me?" Sans turns to you, incredulous and a little mad.

"Frisk asked me to promise not to tell anyone! And I was like five. Come on. I didn't think that much about it."

Sans grumbles to himself, but he doesn't say anything else. 

"Yeah. So, they're the reason why I can't reset time anymore." Frisk explains, "The last time you came to find me to ask me to reset because Debs went missing, remember that I told you I couldn't?" 

Sans nods. After Frisk had been unable to reset, he had teleported himself to the forest in frustration, which was where you found him. 

"I kept trying to reach my previous save, but something kept getting in my way. That was them."

"How come they couldn't stop you when you were underground?" Sans furrows his eyebrows.

"Oh, because I restarted too often. They could never progress in their research." They say, "But they've found a way to stop me now. And then they said that I'm really powerful so they offered to train me. They say that reversing time is really dangerous and creates multiple timelines and alternate universes, which is why they stopped me. But my skill is more than just resetting time. Now, instead of reversing time, I can peek a little bit into the immediate future and choose the best possible outcome by manipulating the current choices." 

"That's so cool!" You cry out.

"The stronger I get, the further I can see." They beam, blushing a little under your praise.

"Is that why you had to come with us that day?" Sans asks.

"Yeah. I had to make sure the best possible outcome was reached. Every different thing you do results in a different outcome, that's obvious. But that day, one wrong move and everyone would have been dead and dusted." Frisk explains.

"What do you mean?" Your eyes dart to theirs. You didn't think that much was at stake. Frisk knew they could've died and they still chose to go rescue you?

"There's too much to explain in detail, but when Caleb left, he secretly rigged the entire place to explode and kill everyone in there if you woke up and escaped or Sans appeared. That's what Grillby was for. To distract them so none of them would be able to notify Caleb."

"The fucker- Wait, but why Grillby?" You tilt your head to the side, confused while Sans releases a low growl. Asgore and Toriel could wield fire too.

"Grillby fought in the human-monster war, so as a soldier, he's used to taking instructions quickly without question. Asgore could have been an alternative if we had no choice, but he's a bigger target and as the king of monsters, would have caused political issues later on."

You look at this young kid and notice that they speak too maturely for their age. How many years did they spend in reset? Also, Grillby fought in the war? How old was he??? 

Frisk looks between the two of you before continuing, "Anyway, Papyrus had to come because he's a healer and has high attack power, and Sans for obvious reasons." 

"That makes sense." Sans nods, "So who's training you and how did they find you?" 

"I don't know how they found me, but they're a secret organisation of all the remaining mages. There used to be more of them, they slowly died out and killed each other during and after the human-monster war. This group that I'm training under is the one that was on the side of the monsters during the war. They killed off all the others." 

"If they were that powerful, how did the monsters get stuffed under the mountain?" Sans growls, doubtful.

"From the little that I know, there was a betrayal and backstabbing that whittled away at their power. Eventually though, even after things stabilised, they just gave up on the monsters under the mountain. I don't know why." Frisk looks down, guilty for whatever reason. "But they weren't the ones who locked you monsters under." 

"Yeah, they just left us there to die." 

"Wait, Frisk, if you're developing your powers as a time mage, doesn't that mean your trainers are well versed in things like the void and the timeline?" You change the subject.

"Yeah, why?" They raise their eyebrows in confusion.

"Maybe we could get their help to get Gaster out of the void!" 

"They may have been on the monster's side in the past, but they may not be now. I don't agree.' Sans growls. 

"Gaster's in the void?" Frisk asks. 

"You know who Gaster is?' You whip around to face Frisk.

"A little. Isn't he the original royal scientist? There are a few clues underground. Sometimes I thought that I saw him too." 

Sans nods, "We found him in the void." 

"I don't mind trying to help if you don't trust them enough to ask for help." Frisk offers. 

You look at Sans to let him make the call. 

Eventually, he nods. "Let's just try doing this on our own. If we need help, I'll ask Alphys." 

"Okay, just let me know." They look out the window to see the sun setting. "I gotta go soon, Mum doesn't like me coming home too late." 

You pop into the back to finish frosting the cupcakes before handing the boxes over to Frisk.

Sans ruffles their hair as they say goodbye, and you give them a goodbye hug.

"Hey, if Grillby fought in the war, does that mean Ashley's dating a grandpa?" You turn to Sans in disbelief.

He laughs as his eyelights flick to you, "I guess… in human terms? But it doesn't mean anything to monsters since the lifespan of the monster couple eventually syncs once they bond." 

"Oh yeah." You slip your arm around his back.

-

"Whoa. Trippy." You and Frisk are floating in the void. It's your third time here, but it never gets less creepy.

This time, Sans has brought the both of you here using a machine he built in the lab he had hidden under his house. He was like the scientific version of batman! 

At least he doesn't need to keep teleporting like crazy for you to go back to him this time.

"How nice to see you both." Gaster's voice comes from behind you. "I see you didn't try to force your way in here by making Sans summon his Gaster Blasters." 

"Oh! I could really do that? Do they really lead here, though?" You ask.

"Yes and no, anyway, how can I help you?" He asks.

"We came here to help **you**!" You grin. 

"Debs wants to try to drag you out of here through sheer willpower." Frisk giggles. You'd spent a long time convincing Sans that since you didn't know anything, any information would help. He agreed with your logic, but he still didn't want you to take the risk. You won, though.

"You are welcome to try." Gaster says with a half smile, spreading his arms out wide. 

And try you do. You try grabbing on to him while summoning your magic, but that ends up teleporting you outside alone. Frisk tries to do the same and you even try doing it together, but it doesn't work. Nothing works. You huff with exasperation and you both keep trying different things, but the result is the same.

"I appreciate your efforts, but it is not yet my time to leave." Gaster smiles as you return to the void for the hundredth time. 

"GAHHHH." You roar, upset that you feel so close but so far away. 

With a gentle smile, Gaster places a hand on your shoulder. "Do not worry, I believe that my escape will come." 

You purse your lips and sigh. You've been doing this for hours.

"Sigh, alright. I've long run out of ideas anyway. Frisk?" 

They shake their head. They're tired too.

"We'll visit when we can!" You say as you wave goodbye. At least he won't be here alone all the time.

"Hold on." Gaster says, "There is something I would like to talk to Frisk about." 

"Me?" They point to themselves as they look between you and Gaster. 

When Gaster nods, they float back to him and say that they'll come back on their own. Confused, you leave the void. 

"Where's Frisk?" Sans calls out from behind his machine when you flop down into the sofa in his lab.

"They're still there. Gaster wanted to talk to them." You say with a shrug.

He hums as he turns back to observing his computer screen.

After a long time passes, you're about to go back in and get them when you hear a beep and they walk out from the machine. 

_Sans, can I have your jacket please?_ They sign.

You sit up, confused. They usually spoke whenever it was just the three of you. Sans is confused as well, but he shrugs his blue jacket off and hands it to Frisk. They disappear back into the machine and come back out, holding the hand of another child, slightly taller than they are. 

You hop out of the sofa and run over to the child wrapped in Sans' oversized jacket as they look up, and you see their red tinted eyes. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote a short spin-off where Debs meets underfell Sans instead. Read it [ here ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21964813/chapters/52414156) if that floats your goat!


	30. Hi Chara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will everyone deal with this?

You hop out of the sofa and run over to the child wrapped in Sans' oversized jacket as they look up, and you see their red tinted eyes. 

“...Cha-?” You wander over to crouch in front of them when you’re suddenly teleported behind Sans, eyesocket flaring. 

Sans lets out a loud growl as he shields you with his body and Frisk does the same to Chara.

"You." Sans growls, "I recognise that look. I know you." 

He puts the pieces together. He was right. All those times where Frisk felt like a different person, it was because they **were** a different person. The one he killed, the one that killed him- that was Chara. That was **always** Chara. The expression he read to know how many times they'd died, how ready they were to kill. He'd know those eyes and mannerisms anywhere.

"Sans it's okay, they're not going to hurt us." you try to step in, but Sans whips around.

He stares at you for a long second. 

"You… you knew? That Frisk was two people?" 

Biting your lower lip, you look to the floor and nod slowly. 

"And you never told me?" He cries out, accusatory. "After I'd opened up so completely? After I told you **everything**? Why would you-" 

"I didn't want her to tell." Your eyes whip to Chara, and you see from the corner of your eyes that Sans does the same.

Their voice is hoarse and barely a whisper, probably because they hadn't used it for so long. 

"I'm sorry." 

You actually didn't realise it would have been such a big deal for Sans. Maybe you really fucked up this time. 

He gives you another glance before he teleports away. 

You close your eyes and groan, burying your face in your hands before deciding to deal with your skeleton later. He was an adult and could manage himself. Right now, you have two extremely disoriented kids in your hands. Not that you were faring any better, if you were honest. 

"So…" You puff your cheeks out as you exhale slowly. You have so many questions that you don't know where to begin. "Let's just get you both back to my place." 

Climbing the stairs back up to the ground floor of Sans' apartment, you take a cab back because you can't take two kids on your bike.

"This should fit you… kind of." You say as you dig into the recesses of your wardrobe for some old clothes and hand them to Chara. Frisk is still standing close to them, holding their hand in theirs.

"...You're taking this rather well." Chara says as they hug your clothes to their chest.

"Yeah well, I already knew you were two people?" You shrug, "And I mean… in the midst of all the drama, this is just another item in the whole list of what-the-hells. Now." You close your wardrobe and turn to them. "Can you shower on your own or do you want me to come in with you?" 

"No need!" They say, a little too quickly. “I can do it.”

Subconsciously, you reach out to sense their emotions and you sense panic and shame. 

You furrow your eyebrows, sensing that something's off, but then again, this whole damn situation is off. One step at a time.

"Feel free to use the bath. It's the first door on your left." You say as you place a hand on their head. 

You watch as Frisk follows along and joins Chara in the bathroom and figure they must be really used to each other by now. 

It must feel so weird for them to be separate entities. Hmm… Was it actually stranger for them to be apart from each other? 

As they take their time in the bath, you go to your phone and try to call Sans. When he doesn't pick up after a few calls, you leave him a text to let him know that you're back home and with the kids. 

Laying in bed, you wonder how on earth Gaster managed to bring Chara's body back. Was that their real body or did he create one? How did he create one if he did? 

And Sans... How was he feeling right now? Should you really not have kept it a secret from him? But what would it have changed? 

Well... it’s not like you expected Chara to have literally popped out from nowhere. 

What were you doing now with the kid who literally murdered his brother, his friends, and the entire monster population? Did it count if they also technically did not murder them?

But then, you also wouldn't be alive if not for them… Hmmmmmmm…

As you’re mulling all of this over, you hear a soft knock on your door.

_Can we come in?_

You look at the pair of little children standing at your open door and wave them in. Your clothes were only a little oversized on Chara.

“Come sit with me.” You say as you sit up and lean on your pillows. 

Frisk and Chara walk in together and climb in to join you on your bed.

_Are you okay?_ Frisk signs before taking Kiwi and putting her in their lap.

“Yeah, it’s a little overwhelming, but I’ll survive. What do you plan to do?”

Frisk knows you mean Chara. Nobody else apart from you knows that Chara lived in their head. It was already late at night, and it probably was a terrible idea to drop a bomb like this now.

_Can…_ They pause before looking to Chara and trying again. _Can we stay here with you tonight?_ They sign tentatively. 

“You too?” You wonder what you can tell Toriel. You weren’t a fan of lying. You were a get-it-out-there-and-deal-with-the-shit kind of person.

_I don’t want to leave Chara alone._ They look really nervous and fearful that you’ll reject their request, which makes you cave in. 

“I don’t mind, of course. There’s more than enough room in my house. But what will we tell Toriel?” 

_I’ll text her. She’ll probably call you to check, though._

“Okay.” You nod, “Let’s do that.” It’s not like you had a better idea.

As Frisk texts Toriel, you look over at Chara, who’s been exceptionally silent.

“You doing okay there, buddy?” 

“Yeah… I’m just not used to… the silence in my head.”

They look at Frisk, who squeezes their hand supportively before signing. 

_Me neither._

Suddenly, it hits you. If Chara could speak in their body, this meant that Frisk was actually physically able to talk. They just didn’t want to. Were they just naturally shy? 

Your train of thought is interrupted by your phone, and you hop outside to pick up the call. 

“Hey, Love.” Your favourite voice comes through your phone.

“Hey, Pudding. You doing okay?” You ask gently, so extremely relieved that he called you back. 

"Yeah… I'm sorry I just left you alone." 

"It's okay… Me too." Obviously, you weren't very good at apologies and things like that.

"How are things going over there?" 

"Not bad, I just put the kids to shower and they're gonna stay over before we update the others in the morning." 

You hear beeping over your phone and pull it away to look at the screen.

"Hey Pudding, Goat Mum's on the line. Do you want me to call you back?" 

"No… I'll be fine. Call me if you need me?" 

"You know I will. Love you."

"Love you." 

You cut the line and speak to Toriel. 

You take a long time to assure her that Frisk is alright and that they are no bother at all before you can finally put the phone down and head back inside to the two kids. You were never one for long phone conversations. You liked texts and proper face to face conversations because you always got distracted easily during phone calls.

When you push your room door open, you notice that the both of them are fast asleep with their fingers intertwined and with Kiwi lying in between the both of them.

It must have been really tiring for these poor kids. You were rather drained, yourself.

Smiling gently, you turn the light off and climb into bed, shuffling to the side closer to the wall so the kids have space to sleep.

It was a damned long day for you, so you fall asleep before your head even hits the pillow. 

-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" 

You're awakened by agonized screams as your frazzled self scrambles out of bed to the light switch. 

You see Frisk leaning over the bed, hands stretched out towards Chara, who's sitting on the floor with their head tucked between their knees, shaking with fear. 

Moving slowly towards them, you place a gentle hand tentatively on their arm as their head whips up and their panic-filled eyes overflow with tears. They're about to jump backwards, but when they see that it's you, they tuck their head back in between their knees as they mumble something you can't make out.

"I'm going to try something, okay?" You say softly as you take deep breaths and gather your magic power to let your calm flow through your fingertips into their body. You haven't practiced this skill enough to know how to send across emotions that you don't feel, so you continue taking deep breaths in hopes that this is enough to ground them.

After a few long moments, Chara finally stops sobbing and reaches out to you. Unable to deny their request, you gather them in your arms as you sit on the floor and rock them to sleep. 

You toss your gaze over to Frisk, who's still awake as they sit across you. 

_I can't tell you_ . They sign. _Chara will be mad._

Biting your lower lip in frustration, you cradle the poor child tighter to your chest. You're a little too weak to carry them to the bed without waking them, so you end up sleeping on the floor. 

You thank the stars that nothing else happens through the night. 

When you wake up, the two children are seated beside the bed just staring at you. 

"Mmmmm... five more minutes." 

Frisk pats you until you open your eyes to look at them.

_Hungry!_

Groaning, you place your arms under you to lift yourself off the floor but give up halfway and plop yourself back down. You give yourself another thirty seconds before you roll over to your back and sit up straight. 

Giving a huge yawn and a bigass stretch, you stand up and motion for the two children to follow you to the kitchen so you can cook them breakfast, all the while trying not to fall back asleep on your journey there.

"So are we ready to talk yet?" You say in between bites of your eggs.

Chara looks down at their breakfast while Frisk signs to you.

_You mean how Chara came back?_

"Uhhhh…" You scratch your head, unsure how much brain power you could summon in the morning. "Give me the gist of it. Sans would probably understand it better. I'm actually more interested in the nightmare."

It doesn't skip your notice that Chara flinches when you mention Sans' name. Just how badly did they go at each other? 

Guuuuurl, you really had **no** idea. 

_Gaster got Chara's body from a different timeline and then he brought us to his lab outside of the void where he split our souls._

"What?" Okay you know you asked for this gist, but this was too much. "How?"

If Gaster was able to leave the void, then what was he still doing in there? Did that mean he could leave for short moments? What did they mean from a different timeline? Could he alter a timeline? Did he alter it by taking Chara's body? What if he was altering this timeline too?

Frisk glances at Chara before answering.

_We don't know how he did it. But it really hurt. I passed out halfway during the split._

"He used one of the machines we saw underground before." Chara finally speaks. "It looked like a skull." 

"So Gaster split your souls and put Chara’s soul in another body? It’s real?" You tilt your head.

"What?" 

"Your body. Do you have complete control over it?" 

"What do you mean?" Chara is so confused.

"Like sometimes in manga, the degree to which the soul can fully utilise the vessel depends on its compatibility right? So although it's your body, it's also technically not your body because it's from a different timeline, I'm just wondering how it feels for your soul!"

"My soul feels… fine?" 

"Oh my god, Chara." 

"What?" 

"If Gaster can put your soul into a different body, maybe he can put **my** soul into a sword. I could be like Amidamaru for comicon this year! Forget Miku, man! Shaman King is a classic!" 

You eventually stop talking when you notice Frisk and Chara staring at you. Crap, were you being insensitive? You reach out with your magic to assess their current state, and are relieved to find that there's no negative emotion. If anything, they're amused. 

"Sorry." You pick up another bite of eggs and stick your tongue out sheepishly. "Easily distracted." 

Frisk giggles and Chara smiles for the first time since you saw them. They had no idea what you were talking about, but they recognised weeb speak when they heard it.

You clear your throat, trying to become more solemn. 

"So.. the nightmare?" You try to prod.

Frisk looks to Chara, who starts playing with their eggs. You can feel their waves of hurt as they try to stem their panic, so you decide to drop it for now. 

"Nevermind. Is there anything I need to know before we go meet Goat mum?" It's a casual question you just asked to change the subject. You don't really expect there to be anything serious. If they did tell you anything, you'd be able to handle it.

Frisk looks at Chara before signing.

_Chara is one of Toriel's dead children._

**One of**?! 

Her **dead**?! 

**Children**?! 

You drop the fork in your hands and choke on your eggs as Frisk runs around the table to pat you gently on the back.

Once you’ve wiped the tears from your eyes, you ask with furrowed eyebrows.

"Wait, isn't that a good thing?" 

It did open up a can of worms but… which mother wouldn't be happy to open that can, if it meant having their child back? Okay, maybe your mum. But Toriel was a good mum. 

"Will Goat Mum recognise you?" 

Frisk looks at Chara, who has torn their gaze away from their plate to nod at you.

"Yeah. I look the same… just without any flaws."

"Flaws?" You tilt your head. 

"Yeah." They lift up both hands and show you their wrists, "No scars." They smile, but it doesn't reach their eyes. 

That nonchalant way of asking for help really resonated with you, leading you to hop off your chair and wrap your arms around them. 

"But I do." You say, as you lift your shorts to show them the thin raised lines. You wanted to show them that you understood them. That your hug wasn't out of pity or condemnation, but of genuine concern and affection. 

Frisk and Chara both look at you in shock as you ruffle their hair and grin. "We're survivors!" 

After breakfast, everyone helps to clean up before getting dressed. "Ready to go see Goat Mum?" 

They exchange worried glances as you laugh. 

"How are you so calm about this?!" Chara looks at you with exasperation. 

"I don't know?" You shrug, "But what's life without drama! As long as nobody dies, we're all good." 

They both shake their head at you incredulously as you grab your car keys. 

"I still don't understand how **dying** is your standard here." 

A figure pops in beside you as you squeal in delight.

"Pudding!!" You jump into his arms for a big hug. 

He returns it as he takes a deep breath. 

"You're going to be the dust of me one day." He narrows his eyesocket at you before he turns to Chara.

"There are a lot of things that you and I need to settle."

Chara and Frisk are standing there with their hands interlocked again as they look at Sans. 

"You owe me for everything that's happened and you know it. But…" Sans continues as Chara fidgets under his gaze, "I owe you for saving Debs." 

Chara's looks between you and Sans before they turn back to the floor.

"And I know that it may all be a part of one big manipulation that you saw coming..." 

Chara looks like they're about to disagree, but Sans doesn't stop talking. 

"But even if it is, I don't care. Thanks for saving Debs back then. And for that, kid, I owe **you**." He looks at Frisk too. "Both of you. Now bring me up to speed before we head over to Toriel's."

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so much longer to write than I expected.  
> Happy 2020! 
> 
> I can't believe 2000 people know this novel exists!


	31. Origin story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debs and Sans gotta find out what happened in the past so that they can plan properly for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings:
> 
> rape, suicide, abuse, murder

"Isn't that great, Chara?" You coo as you hop over to wrap them in a hug. Your pudding was having such great character development! You were so proud. 

"Wait… Chara?!" Sans eyelights widen. "Like, Toriel's kid?!" 

Your mouth forms the shape of an O as you look at him. Of course he would know.

Chara nods as they look up from inside your hug. 

Sans whips his head to you, "Did you know about this too?" 

Raising your hands in a plea of innocence, you defend yourself, "They **just** told me!" 

Sans narrows his eyesockets at you again as he massages his nose bridge and wonders how his life got so much more dramatic ever since you came along. 

"Anyway, won't Goat Mum be **really** happy? Asgore too right?" You wonder why Sans looks so conflicted. "I mean, yeah, it's a lot to take in but-" 

"Love." Sans cuts in, "You mean you don't know what happened?" 

You frown with confusion. "What happened?" 

Sans fills you in on the little tiny details… like oh… how Chara had fallen terminally ill somehow, and her other _kid,_ Asriel _,_ (no pun intended because this was a deadass serious situation) got killed by humans on the surface while trying to fulfill Chara's dying wish.

Geez. You'd think someone could have filled you in on that earlier?? 

"That's what split the king and queen apart." Sans continues. "S'why Asgore started killing every human that fell down into the underground."

"For revenge?" 

"...Partly… mostly? We also needed human souls to break the barrier, remember?"

You wince in understanding. They'd already been forced underground, and now, their innocent kid had been killed while trying to fulfill the dying wish of their adopted sibling. 

And now, one of said kids was back to life, which was great, but…

You're about to continue the conversation when you feel guilt pouring out of Chara like a roaring wave. 

"Hey, it's not your fault Asriel died…" You begin, but Chara cuts you off. 

"Yes, it is." 

You furrow your eyebrows, upset that the kid blames themself for the cruelty of humans. When you're about to ask them why they think it's their fault, they speak again.

"It's my fault because I did it on purpose." 

You raise your eyebrows in response, but otherwise say nothing as you want to let them take their time to speak.

"I manipulated Asriel. I manipulated Asriel into helping me kill myself before bringing him up to the surface where he was killed." 

What the hell? 

You blink in confusion but otherwise try your best to keep a poker face. You don't want to assume the worst as you and Sans exchange glances, but while you look confused and concerned, you can sense Sans' growing apprehension. You want to walk over to him to hold his hand, but decide it's better for you to do nothing and let Chara continue. 

Except that they don't. They remain completely silent.

"You gotta tell us more than that, kid." Sans breaks the silence, and you turn to see that his eyelights have flickered out.

"Why? So you can judge me like you did underground? Go ahead." Chara's red eyes fill with anger as tension hangs in the air. "Why don't you just go ahead and help me finish the job, Sans? Right here." Their eyes fill with spite as they tap the centre of their chest with a small finger. "I can't reset anymore, so this is your chance to get rid of me. Oh, and don't forget to change your attack patterns this time."

Sans growls as his left eye flares with an erratic neon blue flame and his gaster blasters threaten to push their way through the void and into this space. 

Sigh, this kid was so self destructive. They were only this way with Sans, though. In its own odd little way, this showed how close they were. 

Sans was right. This kid really knew how to push his buttons. 

"What are you waiting for?" They continue when Sans doesn't move. "For me to kill Debs? Or will you sit by and do nothing like you did with Pap-" 

Realising that this kid was probably going to successfully goad your precious Pudding into killing them, you immediately step in front of Sans as you take off your shoe and toss it at Chara's face. Before it leaves your fingers, you turn it into a kind of hard mask that activates upon contact with Chara, covering the entire bottom of their face, save for some breathing holes around their nose.

When they fail to rip off their mask, they glare daggers at you, wishing that they still had their ability to reset. At this present moment, they didn't know why they weren't even able to see the immediate future anymore. 

Walking over to them, you knock your forehead solidly to theirs in punishment. You have to blink rapidly to fight the tears that fill your eyes at the pain, but you otherwise maintain your standing position as Chara clutches their head and squats on the ground in agony.

"Bad kid!" You huff as you turn to Frisk. Shooting them a warning glare, you don't give them an option. "Tell me what happened. Now. Everything." 

As they look at you apprehensively, you don't forget to add on. "Don't forget that I can sense if you're lying." 

You also couldn't actually tell if someone was lying if they were good enough at it… but the kids didn't need to know that! You just hoped they wouldn't call your bluff.

After their eyes flit between you and Chara, they eventually give in.

_Chara got Asriel to help them commit suicide._ They sign tentatively. _Then, he could absorb their soul and escape to the surface._

"The fuck?!?" Shoot. Language. You look over to Chara, who's sitting on the floor with their head tucked into their knees. "...why?" 

Frisk walks over and sits beside them before they continue.

Since they're both sitting on the ground, you do so as well and Sans takes his place beside you. 

*

"You fucking piece of shit! Why can't you get anything done right?" 

Chara trembles in the cupboard with hands cupped over their ears as they hear the front door of their home fling open. No… this wasn't a home. This was hell. 

_Please don't find me, please don't find me_. 

Dark calloused hands fling the cupboard door open from the outside as they drag the frightened child out, tossing them roughly on the floor as if they were a ragdoll.

"Did you think I wouldn't be able to find you?" The man snarls as he grabs Chara by the collar, lifting them up to his eye level.

"You know, sweetcheeks." the back of his rough hands rub the bottom of their cheek. "You could afford to have more meat on you. Then it'd feel better than the last time." His eyes wander wantonly on Chara's body, who stiffens under his touch. 

"Fuck you." They spit on him, causing his eyes to suffuse with rage as he slaps them and grabs their cheek to bring it closer to him. 

"Oh, is that what you're into now? Maybe we should try it this time, you slut." 

Chara's eyes burn with the desire to kill as they force themselves to look away. He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't dare. Not now. Chara's mother was coming home soon, and it was too risky for him.

"Waiting for your mum to come home and save you?" He grins, revealing his yellow stained teeth that he probably hasn't brushed for days again. "Too bad for you, she's going out with her friends today. Although I don't know how those bitches can stand her. Take off your shirt." 

He releases Chara and leans back, arms crossed.

_No fucking way_ . _Not again. Not this time._

This was what he always did. He always made them do it themselves, making them feel like they chose to do it for him. Then he made them feel dirty, like they wanted it all along.

Chara had told their mother before. But it was useless. In fact, she hated Chara for 'stealing' her boyfriend, and she gave him shit for cheating on her. But she was still always on his side. His. **Fuck him** ! **Fuck them both**. They've had enough.

Chara's bolts out the door and runs into the living room, clambering over the sofa. He'd let them run. He always did. He'd wait until they thought they were safe, and then he'd come drag them back, kicking and screaming. He was a sick bastard, and they'd had enough of it.

Crouching under the kitchen table, they find the item they'd hidden away before and hold it firmly in their hands. It's cold.

"Chaaaaaara." That singsong voice rounds the corner as they take a step into the kitchen. "You can't hide for-" 

His mocking voice dies in his throat when Chara aims his gun at him. 

"So **you** stole it, you fucking thief." After his momentary shock, his eyes fill with anger more than fear as he remains standing where he is. He doesn’t believe that Chara would pull the trigger. "Do you even know how much shit I- forget it. I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget. You brought this upon yourself." He reaches towards Chara as they cock the gun and fire. Did he really think they would stash it and not learn how?

"Fuck!" The guy grabs his thigh, where the bullet went through, and falls to his knees with an anguished cry. Blood pours out of his bullet wound and fills the room with a metallic smell. 

"Are you fucking crazy?! Put the fucking gun down, Chara!" He growls through gritted teeth. He's sweating from the pain as his vision starts to flicker. 

"You brought this upon yourself." They say, as they empty the entirety of the gun into his chest as their ears ring from the gunshots.

-

Running. They're running. 

They've been running for days through the forest. The forbidden forest.

Water.

Need… food

Scared.

Falling. 

They're falling. 

.

.

.

.

Good. This life was shit anyway.

-

"Oh no…"

A voice? They hear a voice.

"Can… can you hear me?" 

Were they dead? It hurt so much.

They're lifted up gently as the world fades back to the welcoming black.

-

They wake up on something soft. 

_Huh, so this is what a bed feels like._

They'd tried to sleep on their mother's bed once, but they were beaten up so badly for it that they never tried again. Forget it. The mattress wasn't that bad anyway. 

As their eyes adjust to the darkness, they see a white fluffy ball lying beside them. The fluffy ball moves a little and, oh, it wasn't a ball after all. It was a… goat? 

But baby goats didn't look like that. 

"Howdy, I'm Asriel. Are you okay?" 

They think for a moment and realise that there's no pain. But they're super hungry and thirsty. 

"I'm fine." They reply as the room becomes clearer. "What are you?" 

"Oh yeah, you're… you're human aren't you? Did you fall from up there? Mum says that you're lucky to be alive after falling from so high." 

Weird. They didn't feel lucky. 

"I'm a monster. There are many of us underground!" Asriel tells Chara, when he realises he forgot to answer their question. 

There's a knock on the door as a bigger monster comes in, leaving a slice of pie and a drink by the bedside. "My child, we should let the human get some rest." She takes Asriel by the paw and leads him out of the room before closing the door. "We can speak more in the morning." 

After a long moment, they swing their legs over the side and scuttle out of bed. The pie tastes like butterscotch and cinnamon. 

-

Chara stays with their new adopted family for a long time. There are no days or nights down here. 

"Chara! It's dad's birthday soon! We should do something!" 

And that's how they ended up in this terrible situation. 

"Dad… dad will be okay, won't he?" Asriel bawls buckets as he grips Chara's hand tightly in his paw. 

They laugh humorlessly, “Relax, he’ll be fine.” 

_She_ was right. They were only ever good for bringing pain to others.

They'd accidentally put in buttercups instead of butter when they baked Asgore a pie. Asgore had doubled over with pain, and was now with Toriel inside the house while the two kids waited outside. 

-

"I... I don't like this idea, Chara." 

“Are you crying again?”

“Wh… What? N-no, I’m not… Big kids don’t cry.”

"Don’t you trust me? Well if you don’t trust me then I-" 

“No! I’d never doubt you, Chara… never”

“I’ll go get the flowers.”

-

_Hurts. Every thing…._

**_EVERYTHING HURTS.._ **

“Psst… Chara… Please… wake up…”

_Stop don't scream! Asriel will stop me if I scream._

“I don’t like this plan anymore. I… I…”

_But it…._

_Burns it..._

……..

_Stay determined._

  
  


…

..

.

.

.

.

.

  
  


_Finally._

_Wait. What? How… Why do I have paws? Is this… my…_

_Chara? Am I hearing you in my head?_

_Asriel?! Good job, you did it!_

_I… I'm so glad you're still here. Chara, I… what do I do now?_

_Calm down, Asriel. We’ll do it together. But you can leave this part to me._

-

_No! Chara stop! Please… we- we have to go back_

_Didn't you see that they attacked us first? We'll just get six of them and then we can go get your mum and dad! Don't you want them to be free?_

_Yes, but… I… I… okay…_

  
  
  
  


_HA! There! Now all you have to do is-_

_… I can't… I want mom and dad to come up here but I… not like this. I don't want to…_

_Fine, then I'll do it for you!_

_No!!_

_Hey! What are you doing? Go back!_

_…_

_Asriel! You're going to die!_ **_We're_ ** _going to die! You can't just run away! Avoid their bullets! Hit back!_

_I'm sorry, Chara. I'm so… I'm so sorry…_

_Stop crying you idiot! Move! The underground is right there!_

_I made You die for… nothing…_

_Shut up! Move! Fuck!_

_… you said a… a bad word…_

  
  
  
  
  


_Asgore and Toriel are here. They're crying for you, you have to survive._

_They're crying for you, too._

  
  
  
  
  


_Hey… Why'd you lie? You should've just told them._

_They'd feel… guilty. I'm sorry._

_Shut up._

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, so busy.  
> writing dark things is honestly not my thing. Why does undertale have to be so blue?
> 
> Hope that this was worth the wait!


	32. Look who we brought

"Shit." You breathe out as Chara clenches the mask you made in their hands. "... That was so damn badass!! You are literally the coolest kid I have ever met."

"What?" Chara looks blankly at you.

"Sure, you made some bad decisions. But you're a kid. You're supposed to have the leeway to make bad decisions. Regardless, you made a plan, stuck to it and made it happen. Okay, so maybe manipulating Asriel was kinda shitty but -"

Chara stares at you incredulously with eyebrows furrowed. 

"There's something wrong with you. I know it." 

"Nooooo okay look at it this way, Chara! The fact that you were actually able to have the determination to kill your aggressor all on your own and then be smart enough to manipulate someone else is just you using your talents for evil. But if you change, you can just use your smarts for good! And that's what matters. Didn't you also use the same smarts to gain political rights for all the monsters?"

"Only after I killed them in multiple genocide runs. Including your boyfriend." They point out.

"Well he's alive now! They all are." You grin. "The past is the past. The present is what matters. You didn't have anyone to point you in the right direction. You deserve an out. You took a long while, but you eventually figured it out. That's gotta be worth something." 

Frisk giggles as Chara looks speechlessly at you. 

"You know better." Chara turns to Sans. "You know my sins. How messed up I am. Isn't that why you kept killing me underground? Tell her, Sans." 

You turn to your pudding, waiting to see what he'll say. 

It's not like you didn't know that their past was not an excuse for the wrongs they did, whether they had 'valid reasons' or not. But they hated themself enough. They didn't need someone to rub it in any further. They ended the run on a pacifist, which meant that they must have long figured out that what they did was trashy as hell. 

You saw no reason to harp on it. 

Sans doesn't look at you, so you can't signal to him with your eyes. You can only trust in him.

"Yeah. I killed you because you were a stars damned murderer." He starts, and you flinch, cradling Kiwi to your chest as Chara's pain threatens to overwhelm you.

"But." he continues, "I don't see you killing anyone now." 

When Chara tries to cut him, he continues. 

"We gotta stop living in the past, Kid. We can finally start moving forward. You and I both." 

It's not like Sans magically forgave Chara for everything. There were too many scars and sleepless nights for that. But you didn't judge him for his life underground, which meant that he'd be a hypocrite if he judged Chara for it. Also, he didn't have to look at you to know that you'd be sad if he didn't try to encourage Chara right now. He wanted to be a better person for you. 

"See?" You heave a sigh secretly in your heart, so incredibly relieved. 

"Even if you made a lot of bad decisions in the past, you just gotta live better. That's how you make amends. Hating yourself changes nothing and just fuels self pity. Now. Hugs!!" You cry out, running over to grab Chara and Frisk into your arms. Which was funny considering you were barely bigger than they were. 

As you cradle Chara's sobbing figure on your left, you think you hear a whispered "thank you" in your right ear. 

Whoa. 

-

"So, how much of this do you think the rest should know?" 

Sans asks you when everyone eventually settles down.

"I don't know… it might break Toriel and Asgore to know how their children died." You turn to look at Chara and Frisk, who are holding hands again. "Also, Chara and Toriel…" 

There was the off chance that Toriel would blame Chara for the death of Asriel. 

"We can tell them about the genocide runs, but we can't tell them everything. Not about Asriel and I." Chara voices out, still holding Frisk's hand. "Not because Im afraid of what they'll think of me, but…" They exchange glances with Frisk, "We just can't." 

"Ah…" You turn to Sans for support, and continue when he gestures for you to make the decision. "Then I guess we can just tell them the gist of it."

You honestly thought that they needed professional counselling, and that it would be better if at least Toriel knew the whole truth, but they probably had their reasons. You'd fight that battle later. 

You share how you plan to break the news.

"...Are you sure?" Sans turns to you incredulously, but since he told you to decide...

"Yeah! It'll be fine. We just gotta play it cool."

-

"Hi Toriel! Look who we brought!" 

Your group pops into Toriel's kitchen and you give her a wave. 

Toriel puts her knife down and turns around to greet you when she sees Chara, and faints. 

"Oh my God!" 

-

"I told you this was a terrible idea." 

"Shhh I gotta focus." You cut Chara off, biting on your lower lip as you focus on catching the moment that Toriel regains consciousness, so you can send some calm to her with your magic.

It'd be bad if she fainted again. 

It was a good thing Sans had reacted in time and caught her with his magic before she hit the floor.

He helped to place her in her armchair in the living room over by the bookshelf, which was where you were now gathered. 

Toriel eventually stirs and as she blinks, you hold her hand and stream some calm to her. "Sup' goat mum." 

"My child." Toriel says, holding a paw to her forehead, "I apologise. I thought I saw-" Her eyes turn away from you and land on Chara, who shifts uncomfortably.

"Howdy." 

"... If this is another one of your pranks, Sans, I will not stand for it. Admit it now, and I will not exile you from my house forever, only for a moment." She says, eyes never leaving Chara.

"What? Come on, Tori. You know I'd never mess with something like this." He hurries to defend himself, "How would I even know what they looked like? I'm confused as hell, myself." 

She slowly shifts herself off her armchair and moves in front of Chara. "My… child? Chara?"

They grit their teeth and nod, gaze never leaving the floor when Toriel wraps her arms around them in a hug. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." They stiffen at first under her embrace, but their tiny fingers eventually grab on to her fur, as she continues to hug them.

"My child, there is nothing to apologise for." She says, large paws refusing to let go, as if they were going to disappear if she did. 

After a long moment that you and Sans don't dare to interrupt, Toriel eventually pulls away and asks, "How?" 

"We don't really know." You say from your corner, "But we do have something we need to tell you. As Chara's guardian, you should know." 

Toriel tightens her paws around Chara again as she asks apprehensively, "Is it something time sensitive or something that concerns their life or death?" 

You shake your head.

"Then, I'm sure it can wait. If you do not mind, I would like to tackle whatever it is tomorrow, once everyone has had a good night's sleep and our bellies are full. Is that okay?" 

There was no way that Toriel wouldn't pick up on the negative energy radiating from Chara, and she honestly had no interest in anything else but their well-being at the moment. Or ever.

Although Toriel asked it like a question, you knew that it wasn't one. Nodding your head like a little chick, you agree immediately. That was enough drama for one day. 

Toriel returns to the kitchen to cook, with Frisk and Chara right beside her. 

You and Sans head upstairs to your room to give them all the space they need.

When the door is closed behind you, you walk to Sans and give him a hug from behind, resting your head on his back. 

"Thank you, Pudding. I know it wasn't easy." 

Sans turns around to return the hug and nuzzles your forehead, "I don't know how you always believe in the best in everyone."

"Do I?" You never thought about it that way. "I just don't know if I could have made a better decision if I was in their position. Hell, when Frisk and Chara were barely ten minutes into their story, if I could go back in time, I would've ended the guy myself. Their death came too swiftly and easily." 

Your eyes darken at the thought, happy that the man died, but also sad that it ruined so much of Chara's life.

"You don't give yourself enough credit." Sans says into your shoulder.

You shrug, just happy to be praised by the love of your life. 

"I wonder if Chara and Frisk's magic will be impacted now that they've split." 

"Hmm.. there's a huge possibility. But we'll have to see tomorrow." 

Your conversation is cut short by a crash you hear from the next room. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I write and edit my novels on the 1.5hour journey to work everyday, and today, I got on the wrong bus because I was too focused on my phone.
> 
> All my suffering is for you, my friends. 
> 
> Also, I've been playing Audition next level, so join me if you play it too! I'm lonely.
> 
> -
> 
> Check out my underfell series [ here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21964813/chapters/52414156) if you haven't already. It's like a totally different genre over there for whatever reason. I don't know how it became Shojo. 
> 
> -
> 
> As always, leave me a comment because they're literally the only reason I keep writing. I love to hear what you think! I'm a strong girl, I can handle (some) negativity. Kidding, I live for tasteful constructive criticism. come at me, bruh!


	33. Who?

"Guys what the hell!"

You and Sans teleport into the room to see Flowey and Chara, raring to go.

A broken vase lies on the floor, broken shards scattered all over.

"What's going on?" You turn to Frisk when neither Chara nor Flowey turn to you.

Their hands hesitate for a long while before they sign.

_Flowey is an old monster. They recognise Chara._

"What? Are you saying Flowey didn't know that you and Chara shared a headspace?!" You couldn't believe it. They were always together, afterall.

_He knew. He just didn't expect to see Chara in the flesh._

"Where's Toriel?" You ask Sans when he teleports back in beside you.

"I don't know, she ain't downstairs."

Great. Just great.

"I. Told. You. To. Get. Out." Flowey tosses a bullet for every word he grinds out.  
"This is my room. You wouldn't even be here if not for Frisk whining like a fucking pansy and refusing to leave you underground."  
"Chara! Language!" You burst out even though nobody pays attention to you.

"You're just a damned traitor." Chara spits.  
"Well you're a fucking manipulator! I wish I'd never met you!"

Both sides are incredibly riled up as Flowey summons a whole ring of bullets and Chara calls their magic to life. You're distracted by how their magic feels different to Frisk's, so by the time you look up, you're just in time to see them hurl their attacks at each other.

"Stop!" You cry out, but accidentally trip over your own foot in the process of reaching out to them. You end up throwing yourself right in the middle of both their attacks and barely have time to think about what happened before the world blacks out around you.

Sans looks at the chaos in shock just as the attacks hit you from both sides and he catches you as you crumple to the floor.

-

By the time you open your eyes again, you're in an unfamiliar room and it's darkness all around you.

Whoa, why does your head hurt so much? Where was this place? What were you doing here?

Holding a hand to your head, you squint at the light that peaks through the door as it opens slightly.

Ashley? No, the silhouette was too short for that.

"Hey Love, are you okay?" The silhouette calls out to you as your eyes slowly adjust to the darkness.

Was that a skeleton monster? And did it just call you "Love"?

You flinch under its touch as you nod your head stiffly.

"Chara and Flowey are fine, but they're being kept in separate rooms for now. Toriel came back shortly after you stepped in… and healed you. Frisk wants to see you, but Toriel told them that you needed rest." The monster explains, knowing that you'd probably want to know that once you wake up.

What was this monster talking about? Chara? Flowey? Toriel? Frisk? Your mind was spinning.

When you don't say anything, his grin falters. You're pretty sure that he's a guy because of his voice. And dressing too, but who really knew nowadays.

Anyway, how was a skeleton so expressive? Wait, why do you remember thinking that before?

"Does it hurt anywhere?" The monster continues to probe.

"Nope, I'm okay." You're not sure what's going on, but you're so confused you don't know where to begin to get your bearings.

"Are you hungry? Toriel made some pie."

"Yes… please." You say, managing a small smile.

He smooths your hair as he stands up to go, and you can't quite put your finger on it, but it's kind of nice.

Nevermind, you'll have time to figure that out later. When he closes the door, you hop out of bed and give yourself a few good stretches. You look out the window and bite your lower lip. Second floor huh, you could probably do it.

Summoning your magic to your fingertips, you change the window into bubbles and flip through it, rolling when you hit the ground. Ha! You still had it in you.

You jog away, using your phone's GPS to guide you home as you try to sort your thoughts out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lost memories are cliche you say? WAHAHA. 
> 
> Enjoy this teaser. Been busy lately ):


	34. Note from the author

A note from the author:

Hi guys!

I thought that I'd just give you an update on the status of this novel since it looks like there are a few of you following it (THANK YOU).  
It's been a crazy year with COVID19 and me getting married, losing my job and getting another one, so I hadn't had the time to pick this up again although I really really wanted to.

Every time someone leaves a KUDOS on something, I'm like UGH I NEED TO COME BACK HERE TO CONTINUE THIS NOVEL.

Now, I am quite ready to return. Are you guys still interested in this story?  
I am currently developing the plot once again and I don't know when, but I will be back.

It would really help if you could leave me a comment to let me know you're actually still interested in the story!

It'll definitely give me a kick to hurry the hell up.


	35. Tacos?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debs gets filled in on the memories that she's missing.  
> They try to get back the memories she's lost but things don't go according to plan. When will they ever?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've missed you guys! Thank you for commenting on my previous post <3
> 
> Here's a chapter to see if you're still interested in seeing how the story develops from here :) 
> 
> -
> 
> A summary as requested, happily taken and minorly edited from tea-cup's comment:  
> Reader is a scatter brain mage who goes at her own pace. Her magic is matter manipulation with a bit of void magic. She also has a bunny that helps her from being overwhelmed from the emotion or intent of others. She's monster-married/ soul-bonded with Sans.
> 
> Reader is an adopted child of a super-rich family named the Stourtons but ran away from the toxic family. She used to hang with a gang and a rival gang kidnapped like 3 different people on 3 different occasions. She's related to the rival gang as well.
> 
> Reader got stuck in the void when her magic interacted with Sans and found Gaster there but couldn't bring him back yet.
> 
> She managed to separate Frisk and Chara. Flowey is still in his pot.
> 
> The last chapter basically had Flowey pissed to see Chara and so they sent magic attacks at one another. Reader tried to stop them but ended up getting hit and now has amnesia. She remembers Ashley ( her friend) but not Sans or the others) so she runs away to go back home to think.

“Fuck off, Ash! No way I have a monster boyfriend!” 

You say as you watch the blue hooded skeleton sitting across you.

“You mean your monster _husband_.” Ashley replies for the hundredth time today as she leans over her laptop, replying emails.

First of all, there were magic monsters on the surface now? And you MARRIED one? MARRIED?

You narrow your eyes at the apprehensive-looking blue dude. Hmm. You never knew you wanted a boyfriend or that you’d get married so quickly. And with a monster at that.

“Wait. If you’re my husband, does that mean we-” 

“Boned? Yep.” Sans looks at you with a shit-eating grin as Ashley groans and rolls her eyes. "That's how monsters get married. That's what forms the soul bond."

Puns? Huh maybe you really were married. Although hearing it now, technically you just had sex and soul-bonded. Not too surprising considering your impulsiveness overall. 

“A quiz, then!” You declare, “What’s my bra size?” 

“xxx” Sans replies without missing a beat, “You have a thing for blue frills too.”

You narrow your eyes, looking down at your shirt briefly before raising a hand to scratch at your chin thoughtfully.

“Soooo Sans." You say as you plop yourself into the chair next to Sans with a teasing grin, "Who fell for whom first?”

-

The interrogation carries on till the sky turns dark and when you notice Sans yawn, you look out the window and at your phone.

“Oh shit, sorry. It’s late.” You say, hopping out of the chair.

“Oh don’t worry about me.” Sans says with a stretch, “I’ll have no problem staying up for a few more hours. I’d rather answer your questions if you have any more.” 

“Hmm.. maybe just one more.” You say, fidgeting with your hands, “Do we share a bed now?” 

Even as the question leaves your lips, you know it’s kind of redundant. You were _married_ for heaven’s sake. You slept together. Of course you’d share a bed. Despite that knowledge, you still find it too strange.

To your conscious mind, you’d only met yesterday. By the time you made it home, Ashley was already waiting for you in the living room with an extremely confused Sans.

You initially wondered how the hell he’d gotten to your home and so quickly too. And that’s when you found out you had a super-OP teleporting monster boyfr- _oops_ husband. Oh, and you were not as young as you thought you were. They tried explaining things to you but you were so overwhelmed that Ashley had suggested trying again this morning.

Sans didn’t sleep over last night, but maybe he would tonight. Or maybe he was expecting you to go over to his place? Were you ready for that? You lived for the exciting life, but wasn’t this a little **too** exciting?

“We don’t have to.” Sans replies with a grin. Even if you didn't have emotion-sensing superpowers, which you did, you could tell that his smile was forced. He was trying to mask the turmoil of hurt that you could feel washing around your soul in waves. You appreciate the effort even though you both know his powerful magic makes it impossible to ignore. It hurt you enough that you almost wanted to tell him that it was okay, that you wanted to sleep together.

“Get some rest, Love.” He says before you can reply, and he reaches out a hand hesitantly and places it on your head. Even as he blips away, the tingle of his residual magic is familiar and comforting.

You know you saw his grin falter ever so slightly as he blipped away, but there was nothing you could do.

-

Sans had spent the past few weeks filling you in on everything that you don’t remember. 

“So my real birth parents are very possibly extremely powerful time and matter manipulation mages?” You gasp. 

You’re both sitting in your booth after your cafe has closed for the day, and you have a half-eaten doughnut in one hand while your other arm is wrapped protectively around your pile of Muffet’s doughnuts. As if you had to hide them from the precious skeleton who bought them for you in the first place. Dinner was cooking in the kitchen, but there was always space for doughnuts!

“That’s what you told me when you met my father, Gaster, in the void.” 

“I went to the void? AND I DON’T REMEMBER ANYTHING?!” You flop your head on the table in exasperation. “The coolest years of my life, and I don’t remember a thing. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.”

“Yeah, even sang to him there because he told you he missed hearing the sound of someone’s voice.” He tells you with a chuckle.

Ding-

You both turn towards your cafe door only to see two children walk in hand-in-hand.

“Sorry, the cafe is-” You begin, but Sans cuts you off.

“Get. Out.” Sans growls. 

You look from them to Sans, and back to them again.

One of them has red eyes, around twelve years old… Ah this was probably Chara. And the other was... Trish? 

“I can fix this.” The one you think is Chara responds.

“Oh yeah? I think you’ve done enough.” Sans growls, “You can’t even rewind time anymore. What do you think you’re going to do?”

Kudos to the kid, they don’t even flinch at Sans’ anger. If you had your memories, you would know that it’s because they’d been through so much worse before, many times over.

“I don’t have to.” They explain, “Remember the place that was teaching me magic? I found a way to reverse time ONLY for Debs. That won’t affect the space-time continuum. I can rewind Debs just back a few weeks to before her memories were wiped.” They look Sans in the eye, confident about their solution.

“Yeah, a few problems with that. One, you’re not doing any more magic on Debs. Two, you **just** found a way? Have you even tried it before?” 

“Yeah. It worked on Frisk.” They look down a little guiltily but they still refuse to back down. 

Oh, right. Frisk. Not Trish.

The one named Frisk nods in support.

“ **Frisk**? Are you kidding me? You experimented on Frisk?! And even if I completely ignore that fact, your sample size is too small. It’s not happening. Anything could go wrong.” 

“If you never try-” They urge.

“Debs is not your fucking **GUINEA PIG.”** Sans roars as he slams a fist on the table in frustration with his left eye flickering. He dares Chara to push him.

The past few weeks have been extremely rough on Sans. Although you tried your best to get to know him and to find out more about the gaps in your memories, it just wasn’t the same. You knew you had good feelings towards this skeleton, but it wasn’t love. Not yet. You didn’t love him like you knew he loved you. You were trying, but it just wasn’t enough.

“What’s the worst thing that could happen? What happens if you fail?” You cover Sans’ fist gently with your hand as you turn to Chara. Sans looks at you with panic but you shush him with a shake of your head.

Chara tries to meet your eyes but they end up staring at the table in front of you instead. 

“We tried it on Frisk a few times, and the first few times, nothing happened. They had to REALLY focus on the exact time they wanted to get sent back to in order for it to work."

“How do you know it worked?” 

“I told Frisk some random information, then sent them back a few weeks. They didn’t know the information I told them or anything that happened in the weeks they ‘missed’.” 

“So you’re saying that if I get sent back a few weeks, I won’t remember anything that’s happened from then to now?” You hum as your fingers drum the table. “It’s not great, but the trade-off isn’t that bad.”

"Big whoop. What if you just erased their memories?" Sans sneers.

"When I asked Frisk what they was doing, they seemed like they were still in that moment. Also, they had a scrape on their knee from a fall that already healed the few weeks later." So the mind and body would return to the time they thought of. Interesting. One could use that to remain young forever. 

"What happens if we think of the wrong time?" You ask as Sans flinches. You don't know what he's thinking, but you personally don't want to be sent back all the way to back when you were a toddler.

"Nothing happens. It has to match with the time I'm thinking of as well.”

“If the worst case scenario truly is that nothing happens, then it’s worth a shot. But Frisk doesn’t have any magic right now. That’s gotta count for something. I still say that there needs to be more experimentation. It’s too risky, Debs.” Sans urges you to reconsider, “I can’t lose you.” 

“How much experimentation?” You ask gently, sensing his grief at the knowledge that if you never get your memories back, he has already lost you. 

“At least on… a hundred…” He mumbles.

“A hundred people? For my sake?” You raise an eyebrow, “And how long would that take? Weeks? Months? More forgotten memories?"

Sans falls silent, there’s no right answer.

“I want to remember.” You look at him firmly. The glint in your eyes is one of stubbornness. One that Sans knows is pointless to fight.

“So how do we do this?” You say as you turn back to Chara. You feel Sans open his palm and flip his hand around to slip his fingers in between yours. You let him.

“Great!” They smile, pleased at the chance to redeem themself. “You don’t remember anything, so Sans has to do the remembering for you. Just keep holding hands like that. Sans, think of the time just before Debs stepped in between the fight. As much detail as you can. What she was wearing, saying, doing. Picture the overall scenario, but you don't need the details for anything else. Your spatial abilities should make this easier."

As Sans tries to recall that memory, Chara turns to you. "Debs, it's easier for you. Probably. You just have to empty your mind. You have to make sure you don’t think of anything.”

Empty your mind? Oh great, with the attention span of a peanut, that was gonna be reaaaaal easy. 

“Ready? I’m going to start.”

After mumbling about how stupid this is, Sans takes a deep breath. You do the same.

  
"Ready."

As Chara focuses on what they need to do, you do your best to try and empty your mind.

They say that it's best to take deep breaths and you try to imagine a picture of pure black. Okay, this is going well.

Suddenly, you hear the oven bell in your kitchen go off, the ingredients for your taco dinner ready.

Tacos? 

Wait, you remember something about tacos. Didn’t you turn something into a taco with your magic somewhere before?

The subconscious reach towards that thought accidentally sparks off the slightest bit of magic in your fingertips, and you and Sans disappear from the cafe.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that this chapter was worth the wait!
> 
> Thank you for reading and leaving comments. It really means a lot to me (':


	36. The universe be damned (A Sans POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debs skipped over everything because it was too much for her to handle, so let's hear some details from Sans

_A rewind back to a few weeks ago_

"Hey Love, are you okay?" Sans is infuriated that he didn’t manage to react in time to save you, but he’s more concerned at the state of your well-being so he stuffs his anger away. For now. You’ve been sleeping a little too long for his liking.

"Chara and Flowey are fine, but they're being kept in separate rooms for now. Toriel came back shortly after you stepped in…" If that tumbling over your feet could be called stepping in "and healed you. Frisk wants to see you, but Toriel told them that you needed rest." Sans continues to observe you, worry coloring his expression. He pats your head gently but you flinch at his touch. 

"Does it hurt anywhere?" He figures that Toriel didn’t manage to heal all of you and that he probably touched a sore spot on your head.

"Nope, I'm okay." You say. Sans chuckles. You never liked to admit it when you were in pain. You loved acting tough for someone so small and fragile.

No matter, you always had a thing for Toriel’s cinnamon pie and he hopes that it will cheer you up along with helping you to feel physically better. You always did carry a lot more emotional burden than you should. But that’s what he liked about you. You had such a kind soul, even if it wasn’t green. 

"Are you hungry? Toriel made some pie." He knows you’re more likely to eat the pie if he doesn’t say specifically that it’s for the pain.

"Yes… please." You say with a small smile. Sans grins inwardly. He knew it.

He smooths your hair again as he stands up to go but he hesitates at the door. He can’t quite put his finger on it, but something is not quite right.

-

Holding on to the huge slice of Toriel’s pie, Sans teleports back up to the room only to see a gaping hole in the wall, dotted with bubbles at the edges. Familiar.

“Love?” He calls out as he turns to the bed and notices that it’s expectedly empty. Teleporting the pie to the table next to the bed, he reaches for his phone and tries to call you. 

“Was there some kind of emergency?” He wonders to himself even as he doubts it immediately. His brilliant mind has already put the pieces together, but he refuses to acknowledge the possibility. He calls you a few times, but you don’t pick up. He selects a different caller ID.

“Hey.”

“Sans? What’s up?” Ashley’s voice comes through the phone.

“Did something happen?” 

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question? You called me, Sans.” Ashley’s voice carries with it a trace of irritation mixed with amusement.

“Debs is gone.” He doesn’t know how else to put it.

“Gone? What do you mean gone?” Ashley isn’t too fazed, but Sans isn’t surprised. Anything involving you was always at least a disaster level Dragon. You know, a threat to multiple cities? Damn, he had to stop letting you get him addicted to so many different types of anime. 

“I - Wait, where are you? I’ll come to you.”

-

“I’m sure she’ll be fine, Sans. Relax.” Ashley places a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. “Knowing her, she just got another crazy idea and went to get it done.” 

“Yeah, maybe. Could you try calling her again?” 

“She already said that she’s on the way home-” 

The sound of the front door bursting open causes the both of them to turn towards your direction.

“Ash! You wouldn’t believe what-” You begin, when you see the monster standing in your living room. “Hey! You’re the one from the house!” You point a finger at him. 

The one from the house? Sans grows increasingly apprehensive, and even Ashley stiffens.

“How did you get here so quickly? How did you know where I live?” You actually look more confused than guarded and Sans is about to reply when you say, “Wait, when did we get that new staircase? Am I in the right house- Whoa, Ash. You look old.” 

Sans can deny it no longer and the reality hits him as Ashley’s expression turns from shock to outright irritation.

“Oh shit.” He breathes as Ashley tackles you. 

-

By the time Ashley emerges victorious, Sans has managed to pull a semblance of himself together.

“Debs, how old are you?” Sans says with a forced grin. Just start from the basics. He has to know how much of your memories you have lost. He can work from there.

“Nineteen. Why? You hitting on me?” You grin as Ashley rolls off you and you sit up and laugh teasingly.

Nineteen. Fuck. That’s a lotta years. Make a joke. Be funny. Say **something**. Fuckfuckfuck you don’t remember him. You don’t know him. He’s soul-bonded to a human who doesn’t remember shit about his existence. 

Ashley’s jaw drops. “What?”

“What? What did I say?” You ask. “Oh. Does this have anything to do with me not remembering that a skeleton monster put me to bed and that monsters of all shape and sizes are roaming the streets outside and that our house looks different and I feel a little chubbier than, like, yesterday?” 

Sans watches as you poke your belly and squish your cheeks.

“You might... wanna sit down.” Ashley pulls out a chair for you, but she’s looking at Sans. 

-

Ashley is the one who takes the lead in explaining what’s going on as Sans’ brain shuts down. 

“That’s- I- Whoa.” You say, not entirely able to wrap your head around it. “So basically you’re saying that I’m actually **not** nineteen and I love this teleporting magic monst- I mean this teleporting magic **dude**. And I don’t remember anything because I got caught up in an attack between a magic flower and a child?” 

“I know it sounds weird but-”

“Oh my god that’s so stupid. Like what the actual fuck BAHAHAHAHA-” You burst out laughing in hysterics because either Ashley is tripping balls, or you are. After laughing it out, you wipe a tear from the corner of your eye, “I am a damn fucking **joke** if that’s true.” 

Sans isn’t used to hearing you speak and curse like that and Ashley has a hand to her forehead, “Yeah, you skipped a real hot phase of her life. She finally got bearable. I can’t go through this again.”

Sans knows he should say anything at all, but his hands have clammed up and he can’t even make a joke about it. He usually got through bad situations with humor, but this? What was he supposed to do? 

Ashley can tell that Sans isn’t himself as he hasn’t said much since he saw you.

“Hey Sans, you doing okay?” She says as she places a hand on his shoulder.

“Of course.” He says through his smile. “Just thinking.” Thinking about how his perfect life was going to shit. Again. Because of Chara. No, because of his own damn uselessness. His absolute inability to do a single stars-damned thing right. And now life had come to take away the only thing in his life that was worth living for. It was his punishment for being happy after once letting his world go to dust.

“Ugh, sorry.” You say, scratching the back of your head when it seems like they might actually be serious. “Uhm, you say that you’re my lover, right? Sorry I don’t remember you. That sucks.”

“It's…” What was Sans supposed to say? That it was alright? It was far from alright. It was a fucking tragedy. A fucking disaster. “It’s not your fault.” He finally manages to say with a grin. “Guess that just means I get a second shot at making a good first impression.” He chuckles. His eyelights have flickered out, which would have set off your alarm bells if you remembered, but you didn’t. 

You chuckle back good naturedly. 

“Sorry, I’d ask to hear more, but I’m a little tired.” You look to Ashley. 

Ashely frowns in thought but eventually agrees, “Okay. Sans, would you like to come back again tomorrow?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Sans mumbles but his eyes never leave you.

After you’ve gone up to your room, Ashley touches Sans lightly on the arm, “I’ll try to talk to her. Maybe she’ll get better with some rest.” 

“Thanks.” Sans mumbles as he teleports away.

-

Sans didn’t sleep at all last night because his thoughts kept him up, so he fails to keep a yawn from escaping him.

“Oh shit, sorry. It’s late.” You say, hopping out of the chair.

“Oh don’t worry about me.” Sans says with a stretch, “I’ll have no problem staying up for a few more hours. I’d rather answer your questions if you have any more.” Maybe something in his answers could trigger your memory. Anything. He’d tried all day but nothing was working. He just felt like a bard in a court, amusing the queen with his tales.

“Hmm... maybe just one more.” You say, fidgeting with your hands that always used to be in his or touching him in some way, “Do we share a bed now?”

Spending last night away from you was torture. Especially since you didn’t remember him. He couldn’t be apart from you. What if you left him forever?

“We don’t have to.” Sans replies with a grin. He knows you’re not comfortable with that idea, and he has to run before you can see him go crazy. He guesses that you can probably already sense his impending breakdown as it is. “Get some rest, Love.” 

He barely manages to hold back a blue tear as he blips away.

-

As you sleep in your bed that night, cradling kiwi to your chest, Sans can’t help himself as he teleports into your room.

He eases himself gently onto your bed and pats your hair hesitantly. You subconsciously lean into his hand with a mumble and, for a moment, he can pretend that everything is okay.

He couldn’t stay at home where a thousand thoughts would go through his mind, sitting at the edge of his bed reading the text messages the two of you had traded in the past. Desperately trying to see if he could find any significant ones that could trigger your memory. No. The truth was that he was just trying to pretend that all of this wasn’t happening and to live in the moments where you still loved him.

How was he supposed to get you back? You were the one who went after him before. He knew what you liked, but that didn’t mean he knew how to get you to love him. What if you never did? What if he had just stumbled on a fluke and it was a stars-given one-shot-only moment? 

What if this was the universe’s way of telling him that he didn’t have a right to be happy? The soul-bond wouldn’t affect you. The loneliness would kill him, but now that you didn’t remember him, you wouldn’t care. This was a chance to free you from the burden that was himself. What if letting go was the right decision right now? You were too good for him anyway.

“Pudding…” You mumble, and Sans freezes. “Love you.” 

His mind blanks in shock and his heart fills with joy for a moment. Did your subconscious remember him?

He stiffens his back and his eyes fill with resolution. There was hope. What was he thinking? He would never give you up. He couldn’t. He may have been weak before, but you changed him. No more excuses, enough running away.

You fought for him back then, and now it was his turn to fight for you. 

Gently nuzzling your forehead, he whispers, “The universe be damned. You’re mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading!
> 
> These kinds of chapters aren't plot development so it's much easier to write.  
> 


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